Tell Me No Lies
by Emily.J.Allen
Summary: Elizabeth Maria Stark, 15 year old sister to Tony Stark. There's not a lot an ambitious girl can't do in the city that never sleeps, but love and monsters can often get in the way a bit. Peter Parker/OC.
1. Elizabeth Maria Stark

Chapter 1

Elizabeth Maria Stark

You often imagine your life playing out a certain way, normally something generic and typical. You'll go to school, go to college, meet someone, fall in love, get married, have kids, and live happily ever after. I'd known from a very young age that this wasn't going to be how it played out in my world. We wont get into my tragic back story just yet, but what does deserve a mention is the groundbreaking news I recieved at the tender age of 9 years old, when my views of the world were still (moderately) rosy and my hair was still in pigtails. Understandably, having my big brother sit me down and go through the details of his ordeal in Afghanistan came as a shock, but Tony had never been anything but honest with me, and despite the fact I was a child he had known that in this case, honesty was the best policy. It had come as just as much of a shock when I'd stood at the back of the press conference, my hand squeezed tightly in Pepper's and my fiery haired best friend standing close beside me, while my brother announced to the world that he was, in fact, Iron Man.

Things changed after that. The world got more frightening every day, a new world filled with gods and monsters, each morning a fresh surprise as to what might crop up next to threaten my way of life. But I wouldn't have it any other way. If anything, this crazy new world had brought me closer together with the only family I had left, and as well as that, it had given me a new family. I didn't expect my life to follow any sort of normal route, and I especially didn't expect to fall in love. But I suppose in a world of surprises you had to be ready for anything. And I was. I'd grown in a world of magic and mysteries, and it had made me who I was today. Elizabeth Maria Stark.

"Elizabeth you better almost be ready! Tony's already bashed on the door three times I think if he has to once more he's going to drag you out of here by your hair." I groaned, the berating voice muffled slightly through the en-suite door that placed a barrier between us. The tone of her voice told me that even she, the queen of being late, was getting impatient. She's always been this way, seemingly taking up the role of my mother as well as my best friend. I'd known that Madelyn Hogan and I had been destined to be the best of friends when Tony had introduced me to the 6 year old whirlwind of red hair who had skipped into my room and hopped onto my bed as though she'd known me all her life. She was loud and demanding; a fiery attitude, poised exterior and no nonsense temperament all rolled into one. Though one thing she had proved herself to be over the years was fiercely loyal, a trait that everyone who knew her quickly grew to love. She had grabbed a hairpin from her pocket, a gold clip adorned with a daisy, and slipped it into my hair before gesturing to her matching pin. It was at that point she announced that we were best friends, forever and always. She hadn't been wrong.

"Okay Mads chill out I'm almost ready!" I dropped my brush into the sink with a huff, well and truly fed up of trying to twist my hair into some semblance of a style.

"What are you doing in there? Are you taking a crap? We don't have time for you to take a crap Els." My undignified snort of laughter echoed in the bathroom, my laughter continuing as I swung the door open to reveal Maddie's raised brow and hand-on-hip stature.

"I am not taking a crap. I was trying to fix my hair because it's a mess and I can't stand up there in front of all those people looking this way. Okay?" She rolled her eyes, grabbing both of my hands in hers and pulling me towards the dressing table by the far window, before shoving me into the seat. It was a matter of seconds before my loose brunette curls were pinned back on one side, the other side cascading over my shoulder in a waterfall like fashion.

"Simple, understated, and you look perfect." As usual, she wasn't wrong. She'd somehow managed to do something in a matter of seconds, that I hadn't been able to do in the last 45 minutes. Now that we'd got the hard part out of the way, it took me less than five minutes to slip into my dress and heels, grab my bag and hurry out of the bedroom. I was met by the unimpressed frown of my brother, his arms crossed over his chest as he raised a brow.

"I mean, I'm all for being fashionably late for events, but when you're hosting the event, it's a little bit rude". I shrugged innocently, stepping forward and straightening his bow tie before patting him on the chest with a wide smile. I skipped past him, heading for the door before glancing back over my shoulder with a smirk.

"Come on Tony... we're going to be late". He barked out a laugh, ushering Maddie ahead of him and towards the waiting car that had arrived to escort us to our destination.

"I'm feeling a little nervous" turned out to be the understatement of the year as I stood in the wings watching my brother speak. He was a natural, he did this every day and he'd never struggled to keep a crowd entertained. I watched as he spoke with such certainty and confidence, capturing the interest of every person who looked up at him with sheer amazement. It was more than a lot to live up to, and I found myself wringing my hands together in an attempt to quell their shaking. When Tony had initially asked me to give a speech at his benefit, I'd leapt at the opportunity. If I wanted to become the influential woman I aspired to be, I'd need to get some practice in, and delivering a talk about the benefits of the non-profit Tony had started in rememberance of our Mother and the goodness she spread during her life shouldn't have been such a daunting task. Though as I heard my brother announce my name, followed by the roaring applause of the audience, my mind turned blank. My feet carried me out to centre stage, a kiss placed on my cheek and a pat on the back before I was left alone, my hands resting on the podium as I scrabbled through my brain in a desperate attempt to re-discover the speech I had planned. I forced a smile onto my lips as I flattened out my dress, a small and thankful wave offered to the audience as they descended into quiet. I sucked in a calming breath, exhaling slowly before beginning.

"Good evening everyone. First of all, I want to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for coming tonight. The support of everyone here, whether you're a big business owner, a small charity, or just a guy who came along for the five course meal..." a ripple of laughter reached to the back of the room, good, this was going well so far, "...no matter who you are, we are eternally grateful for your presence here tonight."

"It's hard for me to know where to begin when it comes to the Maria Stark foundation. It has so many important meanings to myself and my family, first and foremost, the woman it was named after. Sadly, I wasn't afforded many years with my mother before she passed, a fact that will always sadden me. Though I feel truly blessed to have been given the precious years I was, however short they may have been, and to have been raised with such unbridled love and wisdom. This love and wisdom is what we hope we can share with as many people as possible through the foundation, helping to bring the kind of light to people's lives that our mother brought to ours."

"Now, I'm sure a lot of you are looking up at me wondering what the hell a 15 year old is doing trying to talk about the hardships of the world, and a privileged, wealthy 15 year old at that. I don't claim to understand the difficulties so many in our city face on a daily basis... but I try. I'm one of the lucky ones. When my parents passed, I was left with the means to continue on. Not just to live, but to prosper. But why? What makes me any different from a kid who lives in Harlem? This is a notion that my mother was passionate about. Yes, she worked hard to get where she was, as did my father, but their hard work could have been for naught had they not been given the opportunity to flourish. Which is why I am absolutely extatic to announce tonight, a new branch on the Maria Stark Foundation tree. Through my work with underprivileged children in low socio-economic areas, I've had my eyes opened. These kids are smart, talented, and filled with the potential to change the world. If only they had the opportunity. The Ivy foundation will offer these opportunities, the same ones afforded to myself and others like me. We know that every dream is different, which is why there is no one subject that can cover them all. From the sciences, to English, to the arts, we will present these children with whatever they need to become everything they've ever dreamed. Because who here can tell me that they never wanted to be an astronaut? Or a ballerina? Or the president?" The hums of agreement and the subdued wave of applauses answered my question.

"So, lets get down to the real reason I'm making this beautiful and completely ad-libbed speech. I can't do any of this without you, my own personal funds only able to get me so far. I need your help and your support to make the Ivy foundation a reality, and to start changing the lives of so many ambitious and talented individuals. With your help, we can raise the next generation of scientists, novellists, performers. This world wasn't made for the rich, it was made for all of us, and what we choose to do with it will shape the future. Thank you very much." I finished with a curd nod, a roar of applause filling the room from the very back wall all the way to where I stood on the stage. I offered one more wave and an "enjoy the rest of your night", before Tony was at my side. He patted me on the shoulder, a whisper of pride in my ear before he once again took to the podium. I disappeared backstage just as he began to address the crowd, watching from the wings for a moment.

"Elizabeth Stark everyone. You know, I'm starting to worry about that kid. Give her a few more years and I'll be out of a job." I breathed a laugh, shaking my head before turning and slipping through the back door. I'd rejoin the party in a bit, for now needing to grab a drink and some fresh air. Apparently, Madelyn had figured I'd need the same thing, immediately greeting me with a proud smile and a glass of wine, most likely secretly acquisitioned from the caterers while their backs were turned.

"You know me too well sis". I took a quick sip of the drink before she tugged me forward, engulfing me in a tight hug.

"That speech was amazing Els, I'm so proud of you!" She pressed a kiss into my cheek before stepping back and grabbing my hand, her expression softening. "Your mom and dad would have been so proud of you." I nodded with a small smile. I knew they would have been proud, that's why I did what I did. They may not be here any more but I'd be damned if I ever became a woman my parents wouldn't be proud as peaches to call their daughter.

"I'd be proud of you too if I didn't walk back here to see you with a, very full, glass of wine on your hand." I turned to meet the amused smirk of my brother, resting against the doorframe and eyeing the glass in my grip.

"I need it to calm my nerves!" I responded dramatically, taking a large gulp of the drink and resting a hand over my heart. He rolled his eyes, waving me away with a laugh.

"I'll let you off this once, but only because of that amazing speech. You did good out there Els... you're doing amazing things. I'm proud of you." Sincerity definitely appeared to be the emotion of the night as I recieved yet another bout of praise.

"Wow this is disgustingly cute... when do they start serving this five course meal hmm?" Maddie chimed in, breaking the atmosphere of the moment and raising a brow over her glass.

"Madelyn you're a horrible child."

"I'm so proud to be the second little sister that you never wanted." I regarded their exchange with amusement, taking another sip of my wine before slipping my hand into my friends' and dragging her away before a full blown sarcasm-off could begin. I'd seen enough of those in my life to know this wasn't the time or place.

"See you later Tony. Love you" I called over my shoulder, receiving a similar response just as we slipped through the doors and out into the hallway that would lead us to our table.

The rest of the evening went by smoothly, the delicious meal filling our stomachs and the astonishingly kind donations of a large number of guests filling the Ivy Foundation funding pot. I'd recieved an incredible amount of praise for what I was doing, a factor I'd never expected and was beyond proud by. I'd been even more astounded and flattered when the founder and former CEO of Pym Technologies, Hank Pym pulled me aside to congratulate me. He'd continued to state how wonderful the Ivy Foundation was a beautiful idea and any way that he could help, he would love to be involved. Suffice to say it took me almost the rest of the evening to get over that encounter, still buzzing from the high of everything that had come from the evening..


	2. Midtown High

Chapter 2

Midtown High

The next few weeks following the benefit were a bit of a whirlwind, everything seeming to happen all at once as the Ivy Foundation quickly took flight. My days of being a typical lazy teenager went out the window as I prepared myself for speech after speech, a travel plan already set up for me to tour schools across the state delivering my vision to the children who the Foundation aimed to help. It was daunting, to say the least. I'd spent the majority of my life schmoozing middle aged business men alongside my brother, helping Stark Industries grow and prosper, but this was new to me. I was delivering speeches to my peers, something I wasn't sure how to do, and the first few had been shaky to put it lightly. The way I was used to speaking was too regimented, too grown up and polished, I needed to be myself, a normal 15 year old New York girl.

Maddie and I had spent the first morning of the tour going over what we were going to say, how we were going to present it, and which one of us would say what. It had been a long morning to say the least, and at that point it was only 8am. There were 25 schools on our route so far, and we had started with Harbourfields High school in Greenlawn. The list would grow exponentially, we both knew that, but for now, 25 had been scheduled, and we would be visiting two schools a day, with only one on the final day. I'd been excited, despite my nerves, and that excited part of me couldn't wait to get started.

Come the morning of our last school visit, Maddie had appointed herself personal stylist for the both of us as usual, spending the previous evening rummaging around in my wardrobe for the better part of 3 hours, putting together outfit options only to tear them apart and start again. I'd eventually managed to coax her away from the styling with the promise of a movie and a vast array of treats, along with a takeout. Understandably, this had motivated her somewhat, and two perfectly tailored outfits were quickly matched with shoes and hung ready for the next morning.

I had to say, I was pleased with what she'd chosen for me, sending myself a proud smile as I assessed myself in the mirror. It was simple, understated and almost casual, but still gave off the air of professionalism that you'd expect from the co-owner of a multi-million dollar company. She'd paired a simple white cotton shirt, slightly oversized, with deep navy cigarette trousers that cut off just above my ankles and complimented my slender legs perfectly. I grinned as she appeared behind my reflection, her grey and navy mesh accented dress highlighting the differences in our styles. Maddie had always been one to dress older than her age, not in a bad way of course, in a way that exuded power and authority. I tended to go for comfort, not opposed to a tailored dress and heels but feeling more like myself in a pair of trousers.

"Le pièce de résistance..." Her fingers were hooked into the back of a pair of heels which she dangled in front of me. The dark navy suede was accented with a bright red sole, the trademark sign of a Louboutin. I had to admit, as I slipped my feet into the shoes, they finished of the outfit quite perfectly. I all of a sudden felt incredibly confident and very much ready for the day ahead of us, our last school on the list. For now at least.

Our final stop was Midtown High school, located right between Queens and Brooklyn, two places that Madelyn and I rarely ventured to in our day to day lives. This was a fact made very clear when our car pulled up outside the main building, students and teachers alike pausing to watch the dark Range Rover with piqued interest.

"Last one, lets get this over with." Maddie groaned from beside me, slinging her bag over her shoulder and slipping out of the door. I rolled my eyes after her. For all her amazing qualities, she did possess a hideous tendency to scoff at the unfamiliar, in this case... lower class kids. We'd started this tour with a number of PR assistants and other such staff following us around, though that had quickly come to an end after Madelyn complained of being treated like a child and demanded we be left to our own capable devices. I had to admit I was quite pleased by this development and we had both had flourished when given the freedom to conduct ourselves entirely on our own. I quickly followed after her, the two of us approaching the front entrance where a tall man with perfectly round glasses stood, a beaming smile on his lips.

"Good morning Miss Stark, Miss Hogan! My name is Andrew Davis and I'm the principle of Midtown High." He looked young to be the principle of a school, his brown hair styled into the difficult to accomplish combination of messy yet perfect. He was clad in a white shirt, paired with light grey wool suit trousers and a matching waistcoat, a burgundy tie tucked neatly amongst it. I had to admit, he wasn't the least attractive man I'd ever come across, and I figured that Madelyn was thinking the same as she offered him her sweetest smile, reaching out a hand to shake his as he continued. "We're so excited to have you here, and we can't wait to hear all about the Ivy Foundation."

"Thank you so much for having us Mr Davis, we're very excited to be finishing our tour here." I offered my most polite response, following in Maddie's footsteps and shaking his hand firmly with my most dazzling smile.

"Please Miss Stark, call me Andrew."

"Then please Andrew, call me Elizabeth."

"You can both call me Maddie..." Mads chimed in, earning a laugh from the principle and a quiet snort from me.

He quickly led us through the halls, ignoring the stares of the students around us who were preparing for their tutorial period before they would all gather in the hall to listen to me drone on at them about living their dreams. While it was still a cause I strongly believed in, repeating the same words over and over had helped me to see just how disgustingly optimistic I sounded, and honestly, I'd started to get sick of my own voice. We were ushered into the small staff room, where we exchanged more greetings with an array of teachers who milled around, drinking coffee and preparing for their daily classes. Maddie had been swept away into a conversation with who appeared to be the art teacher here, a petite woman with messy blonde hair, held out of her face by a pretty floral silk bandana. Her navy dungarees, smudged with paint and clay made her look all that much more like you would imagine an art teacher to look. They spoke animatedly as I watched, my attention soon diverted towards the man who had appeared beside me.

"Hi, Roger Harrington, I teach science here at Midtown high." He introduced himself politely, shaking my hand with a kind smile.

"It's very nice to meet you Mr. Harrington. Elizabeth Stark." I greeted him in like, introducing myself despite the fact his nod of understanding indicated that he knew exactly who I was.

"I was wondering if I could have a quick word with you about your programme?" My small smile and nod was signal enough for him to speak as he guided me over to a slightly dusty smelling beige sofa. I took a seat as he dropped into the chair opposite me, clasping his hands together before beginning.

"So, of course, I know all about your work alongside your brother in mechanical engineering, and I have to say I am incredibly impressed. I think so many people see you as 'Elizabeth Stark -Tony Stark's sister' that they forget that you're 'Elizabeth Stark - 15 year old entrepreneur, mechanic, scientist and all round genius'." I chuckled with a grin and shake of my head, more than flattered by the new title I had just been awarded.

"But what I'm most interested in is the work in nuclear physics you've carried out alongside Doctor Banner." His eyes practically lit up as he spoke about my work, a childlike excitement glistening behind his irises. "The work the two of you have done is... revolutionary, honestly astonishing." I nodded, raising a brow and folding my arms over my chest.

"Mr Harrington, while I am incredibly flattered by your praise, perhaps you should get to asking whatever it is you want to ask..." He shot me a knowing smile, a hint of pride in the way the corners of his lips turned up.

"You're certainly your brother's sister. You're right, there is something I wanted to ask of you... I've heard rumours that you might be teaching and participating in some of the Ivy Foundation classes yourself?" I waited for him to continue before realising that he was expecting an answer.

"Is that a statement or a question?" I grinned with a quirk of my brow. He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I suppose it's a question. I have four extremely gifted students who I think would benefit from being involved in your science programme, and I believe they would benefit even more if they were being taught by yourself." He paused, shuffling forward in his seat and meeting my eye with a slightly pleading look. "It would be our pleasure and honour to have you working personally with these students, helping them to become the scientists I know they can."

I nodded thoughtfully, considering his offer before pulling out my phone and tapping away on the screen. His gaze was locked expectantly on me, waiting patiently for a response.

"I'm free all day next Saturday, I'd love to meet these gifted students personally before we get started with anything. What time works for you?" The light in his eyes appeared to glow with a new ferocity as his lips stretched into a wide beam.

"We can be free whatever time you need us to be... would you wanna come here to to school or-"

"I can send a car to pick you all up, we can meet at the Avengers tower..." I continued to tap on my screen, inputting all this information lest I forget. "How does 1pm sound? I can get lunch in for everyone." I finished typing, dropping my phone onto my lap and shooting him a smile.

"That would be... amazing! Wow, thank you so much!"

"It's the least I can do, how can I expect these kids to respect me and what I'm doing if I'm sitting up on a pedestal making others do the work for me. This is my work and I intend to do as much of it myself as I can."

"A very noble sentiment," He praised before glancing over his shoulder, "Oh, it seems your audience awaits... I look forward to hearing your speech." I rose from my seat, sending Maddie a quick nod as she gestured for me to follow.

"I'll be in contact with you later in the week, in regards to Saturday. It was very nice to meet you Mr. Harrington." I shook his hand once more before turning on my heel and heading towards my friend.

"What was that all about?" Her voice was a curious whisper as we exited the room, her arm linking into mine as her shoulder nudged me.

"I'll tell you later," I whispered back as we paused outside the doors to the school sports hall, which, by the rumble of voices sounded as though it was full. "Ready?"

"Last one, you can do it girl." We slapped our palms together, dragging our hands back towards us until our fingertips were touching, before pulling them away with a snap, placing a kiss on our index and middle fingers and pressing them together. It was a handshake we'd created when we were 7, and was still something we did before any big event. It did wonders to calm me down and put me in the headspace I needed to stand in front of a room of my peers.

The doors opened and we were ushered through, the hall falling into silence as all eyes locked on us. Principle Davis was already addressing the school, standing confidently at the podium as he surely did on a regular basis. I clasped my hands in front of me and he offered me a kind and encouraging smile.

"Anyway, I'll stop rambling on at you now and introduce our very exciting guest speaker, Elizabeth Stark." He waved a hand in my direction, opening up the floor to me as he stepped aside. Applause echoed through the hall, bouncing off the tall walls and stands as my heels clicked on the hard wood floor. A smile graced my lips as I stepped up to the mic, linking my fingers behind my back and taking a breath.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm very excited to be here speaking to you today." The few faces of extreme disinterest were something I'd grown used to over the last few weeks, many of the students less than impressed to be given a speech by someone their own age, if not younger. Despite this, I continued, as I had at the last 24 schools.

"Some of you might know why I'm here, some of you might not, and I'm sure that a lot of you don't actually give a crap and would rather just go back to your classes and get this day over with." A ripple of quiet laughter moved through the students, a sign that perhaps I wasn't completely wasting my time here.

"My mother, Maria Stark, was an amazing woman. She dedicated her life to doing right by every single person she met. She saw herself and her life, and she knew that she was blessed, and she never once took that for granted. Both her and my father worked incredibly hard to create Stark industries, and then my brother worked even harder to make it into something good. None of that would have happened if they hadn't been given the opportunity to make their dreams a reality."

"Everyone has dreams, and everyone can work their ass off to reach those dreams but not everyone will get there and it won't be through lack of trying. The opportunities offered to the kids in this city are few and far between, and getting where they want to be isn't as easy as just working hard."

"You would know, princess..." all attention turned to a girl in the crowd, who was currently watching me with a raised brow and an unimpressed pout. I breathed a laugh as a teacher stepped forwards ready to reprimand the student, offering me a polite apology as she passed.

"No no, it's fine." I waved her away, stopping her before she could remove the girl from the room. "She's right. What the hell do I know, right? I'm Elizabeth freaking Stark, I've had my life handed to be on a silver platter, I can be or do whatever I want, so who am I to talk about the struggles people face..." I paused, collecting myself before I went off on a rant about what kind of person I was.

"I'm not here to talk about myself. I'm here to talk about a project that I hope will change a lot of lives for the better. The Maria Stark Foundation was created in honour of my mother, who's work with charities from all over, and people from all backgrounds, helped and inspired so many. From a very young age I've been continuing my mother's work, which is why I am so full of pride to have created the Ivy Foundation as a new means of carrying on my mother's legacy."

"Now, this is where you guys come in. This is an amazing project, which has taken a lot of hard work and time to create and which has already recieved an incredibly generous amount of funding from a number of charities and businesses who want to see it succeed. But the only way it can succeed is if you get involved, because it's made for you, and not just a select few of you. We're gonna be covering subjects from nuclear physics to pottery, creative writing to ballet dancing. Whatever your interests are, there's something for you."

Excited whispers filled the hall, their interest piqued as I finally seemed to be getting a few of them on board. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I wont get into the details of every single subject we'll be running classes for, but I will take this chance to introduce you to the co-founder of the Ivy Foundation, and my best friend, Madelyn Hogan." I gestured towards Maddie who stood just a few steps away from me, a smile plastered on her lips and a quick wave sent to the crowd. She quickly joined me at the mic as I stepped aside to allow her to speak.

"Hey everyone, as you just heard, I'm Maddie Hogan and I helped with like... at least 12% of the work that went into creating this project. Seriously, this girl did literally all of this herself it's insane you don't understand..." I laughed, shaking my head with a sigh, receiving a small shrug from her in response.

"Anyway, as Els has been telling you, there will be a whole bunch of classes and projects to help you guys progress and flourish within whatever field it is you love. There are no aspirations that are considered less important than others, and we have some insanely awesome businesses, teachers and professionals who will be conducting these classes. But the most fun part, that I am so excited about, is that myself and Els are going to be taking charge of a few of these classes ourselves." This one sparked their interest, the thought of being taught by myself or Maddie seemingly an exciting prospect.

"If your calling in life is Nuclear Physics or Mechanical Engineering, you can look forward to a lot more of Els' ranting, because she does tend to ramble on a bit about that sciencey stuff. On the other hand, if painting, sculpting, or the performing arts are of interest, look no further, because I will be your guide, teacher, muse, whatever you wanna call me. We'll also be covering ballet and contemporary dance sessions together, which you better believe are going to be hard work..." I coughed, raising a brow at her with a frown, earning an eye roll in response.

"And so much fun, like the most fun... but also hard work I'm gonna pass you back to Elizabeth now, thank you so much, bye!" She flourished a hand as she hopped off the podium and reclaimed her spot at my side. I snorted out a laugh at her sudden departure, reclaiming my spot at the mic.

"Now, I'd love to open up the floor to anyone who has any questions to ask. No question is wrong, or dumb, so don't be afraid to speak up, I'm happy to answer anything." Immediately, a couple of hands shot up, which I was infinitely grateful for. During my visits to a few of the other schools, I'd been forced to stand awkwardly in a silent room where no one had a single question. At least here they were engaging.

"Okay hi, you in the yellow shirt, what's your name?" I pointed at a small brunette girl who held a feeble hand in the air, clearly unsure whether to ask her question.

"Uh, I'm Beth... yeah, um... so these classes, do you need to have done this stuff before? Like, what if you're interested in something but you've never had the chance to try it and see if it's right for you...?"

"There are no tests or requirements for anyone to be involved in a class. Everyone of all levels of knowledge and skill can come along. If it turns out that it isn't for you, that's fine, then you can check that one off the future prospects list." I laughed, the small nod and smile on her face telling me she was pleased with my answer. I quickly scanned the room for the next, my gaze landing on a boy with dark hair and tanned skin.

"Black and white hoody, what's your name?" I immediately regretted my choice as I noticed the boy's lips were pulled into a somewhat sly smirk, and I narrowed my eyes, preparing myself for whatever stupid question was about to come my way.

"Hey, my name's Flash and I have a question for Miss Stark..."

"Go ahead..." I sighed internally as his smirk stretched into a grin and he folded his arms over his chest.

"Will you go on a date with me?" The hall erupted in a mixture of laughter and groans, clearly this wasn't a new behaviour from this particular student.

"No Flash, I think I'll have to pass on that offer, but thank you." I was about to move on to the next question when I was halted as he continued to talk.

"I also have a question for Miss Hogan... Will you go on a date with me?" Madelyn barely bat a lid at his behaviour, calmly walking over the the podium and leaning in especially close to the mic, her lips almost touching it as she kept her gaze locked on him the entire time.

"In your dreams sweetheart." Another eruption of laughter filled the hall, mine included, before Principle Davis stepped in, hushing the crowd with minimal effort.

"That's enough Flash, serious questions please, Miss Stark and Miss Hogan aren't here to be harassed by you." I silently thanked him with a smile, reclaiming my spot and continuing.

The rest of the questions were generic, what you'd expect. General queries about the classes, their locations, start dates, a few suggestions of what should be included. All in all, it was entirely uneventful. It didn't take long for the students to disperse after that, disappearing back to their classes gladly, bar Flash who lingered for a little too long before he was forcefully ushered into the hallway, but not before he shot a dazzling smile over his shoulder. I made myself a mental note to find out if he'd registered for any classes, and do my absolute best to avoid them. I was packing up my notes when Maddie re-appeared from the hallway.

"I've just called ahead to Atera and got us a table for lunch, so I vote we head over there, indulge a little and then do a bit of shopping?" Maddie tucked her phone into her pocket as she slipped back through the door into the teacher's lounge where I was cradling a slightly watery mug of coffee in one hand, and my notebook in the other. I hummed in delight at the thought, the Michelin Star restaurant becoming a regular haunt of ours since Tony took us there for my birthday the previous year.

"That sounds like the perfect way to spend the rest of this beautiful Monday." I glanced around me to ensure no one was watching before pouring the remainder of my coffee down the sink. "C'mon, lets go I'm starving!".

The majority of the day had passed by the time I got home, slipping through the front door, kicking off my heels and slinging my coat over the chair at just past 7:30pm. I flopped onto the sofa with a groan, wiggling my toes to alleviate the ache that came from wearing heels all day. While they might look lovely, they certainly didn't feel it.

"Long day kiddo?" I tipped my head back over the cushion to see my brother, his elbows resting against the bar top as he rubbed circles into his temples. I quirked a brow, noting the dark circles under his eyes.

"Apparently not as long as yours...?" He sighed, pouring himself a coffee and crossing the room, cradling the hot cup in his palms. I shifted to a seated position as he dropped into the space beside me, taking a large gulp of his drink.

"You could say that." I often worried about him, in a way that a little sister shouldn't have to, but I'd never resented him for it and I never would. I know it should be the other way around, big brother looking after his little sister, but it couldn't always work that way. Not everyone can be 100% okay 100% of the time, so sometimes I had to grow up and deal with that. It was difficult with Tony though, trying to help him was more often than not a losing battle. He sucked in a deep breath, straightening in his seat and pulling his lips into a smile as he twisted to face me.

"But never mind me, how was the presentation today at that high school in... Brooklyn?"

"Midtown High," I confirmed, grabbing the chunky blanket off the back of the sofa and draping it over my shoulders. Tony quickly snatched it from me, resulting in a tug of war which, of course, I won. "Yeah it was good, you know, same old. High school kids don't care about their futures, they care about the present. We got a bit of interest though. Actually, one of the teachers came to me to ask if I'd consider working personally with a few of his gifted science students."

"And? What did you say?" He twisted to face me, resting his elbow against the cushion and his chin in his hand.

"I've set up a meeting on Saturday, to meet the students he wants me to work with." Tony nodded approvingly, taking another gulp of his coffee as I continued. "I think it could be good, you know. Different."

"Different is great Els. And you never know, perhaps you'll make some new friends. Mads is great but don't you just wanna kill her sometimes? Or is that just me...?" I snorted a laugh, slapping him playfully on the arm and shaking my head.

"There are times when I want to kill everyone, Tony."

"Touché..." He paused momentarily before clapping his hands together and hopping up from his seat. "I'm feeling sushi, are you feeling sushi?"

"I am always feeling sushi." My grin matched his as he stacked his mug in the dishwasher before resting comfortably against the kitchen counter. "Hey Friday..."

"Yes, Mr Stark?" the AI responded quickly. While she was no Jarvis, I'd found Friday to be quite a bit more amusing. She had a sarcastic edge to her which I always thoroughly enjoyed and which Tony wished he hadn't programmed in.

"Order in the usual from Natsumi, make it double." He returned to the sofa as he spoke, ruffling my hair before leaping onto the cushion next to me, partially crushing me underneith this legs as he fell. I huffed out a breath, slightly winded but still laughing none-the-less, as Friday responded.

"Right away Mr Stark."


	3. Visiting Queens

I do not own Tony Stark or Peter Parker, or either of their stories in the Marvel Cinematic or Comic Universes. I do, however, own Elizabeth Stark and Madelyn Hogan and their stories.

A/N: The timelines in this story are not accurate to those in the Marvel cinematic or comic universes. The timeline in which Maria and Howard Stark pass is not accurate and is not meant to be.

—

I was more than thankful to finally have a break after the whirlwind that was the last few weeks, able to take the next few days for myself. I'd hideously overestimated my ability to multitask, with the Foundation, my work with Pepper at Stark Industries and of course my school work to juggle all at once. Suffice to say, I was not planning on seeing much of this lovely Friday morning, other than my duvet, a croissant and Netflix. I'd ignored Tony and his jovial complaints about me being a 'typical teenager' as I shuffled into the kitchen in my pyjamas and slippers, a blanket around my shoulders like a cape as I prepared my breakfast and a cup of tea at lightning speed in order to get back to the warm sheets I'd reluctantly abandoned in aid of food.

It was around 2 hours later that I finally dragged myself away from the comfort of my feather pillows and into the shower, where I, once again, spent far too long. My hair washing was interrupted first, by Friday letting me know that Tony had headed out and would be back this evening; and second, Madelyn bashing on the bathroom door to let me know she had arrived. Neither of these interruptions did much to speed me up, and I strolled out of the steam filled bathroom around 20 minutes later, a blue fluffy bath sheet wrapped snug around me like a blanket and my hair leaving a trail of water droplets in my wake.

"Nice of you to make an entrance finally... good afternoon Elizabeth." Maddie had made herself comfortable as usual, lounging lazily on the chaise longue in front of the floor to ceiling windows that adorned the far wall. Her iPad was resting on her knees as she scrolled aimlessly through facebook, clearly attempting to pass the time whilst I was busy with my pampering session.

"Sometimes Mads, I wish you were just a little lazier, so that I might be able to have a lie-in in peace." I flopped onto the bed, still wrapped in my towel, procrastinating putting on actual clothes by checking my phone. I was disappointed to see that the only message I had was from Noah Allerton, the son of some big shot business owner I'd met at one of Tony's galas a month or so ago. Despite the fact I'd replied to his messages roughly twice in that space of time, he continued to accost me daily, asking how I was, what I was up to, anything to spark a conversation that would never happen. I groaned, clicking the lock button and dropping my phone onto the duvet beside me, a mumbled comment to myself about boys not knowing when to give up.

"Noah?" Maddie quirked a knowing brow, rolling onto her side and resting her head in her hand. "How hasn't he given up already?"

"I don't think the boy knows the meaning of the phrase. Every day, a new message. Take the hint, you know?!" She snorted a laugh as I flailed my arms dramatically while I spoke, flopping back against the sheets with a huff.

"Stop whining about your creepy stalker and get some clothes on. I wanna do something today and I'd rather not drag you outside in a towel.

"Must we? I kinda just wanna chill today... we haven't had a break for like 3 weeks Mads." My complaints fell on deaf ears as she silently hopped up and began rifling through my wardrobe, flinging a pair of black jeans and a dark grey v-neck sweater at me.

"Yes, we must. Now get changed, dry your hair and meet me in the kitchen." With that she spun on her heel and exited the room, leaving me with my strict instructions.

We'd spent the day doing our usual; eating and shopping. A part of me, the part that always wanted new clothes and was always hungry, loved it. But another part of me wished we could do something different for once. I'd not yet managed to convince Tony to let us run off and stay in one of the various holiday apartments/cabins/mansions, so for now the best we could manage was shopping and food just around the corner from home.

I rested against the clothing rail, my mind wandering as Maddie busied herself, digging through mountains of clothes to find a wardrobe addition she absolutely did not need. I could safely say, that I was bored.

"Madelyn Hogan, I swear to god if you pick up 8 more dresses to try on I am going to leap off the top floor of this mall. I will leap to my death. I promise." She rolled her eyes at me, re-hanging the pile of dresses she had slung over her arm.

"Fine, whatever. What do you want to do then? Come on, give me some options." She folded her arms over her chest, cocking her head and quirking an expectant brow. A grin stretched onto my lips as I pushed off the rail, prompting a slightly nervous frown from Maddie.

"Let's go on an adventure..."

I rolled my eyes over my shoulder as I stepped off the curb, heading for the small corner store that boasted 'the best sandwiches in Queens'. Well how could I resist such a declaration. Apparently, Maddie could very easily resist, although after a passing dog had startled her she was hot on my heels. Despite the fact she'd clearly never stepped foot anywhere outside Soho, I'd somehow managed to drag her all the way to Queens for what I had described as an adventure, and what she had described as a nightmare. Well, what she'd actually said was; "two rich, girls wandering Queens in the dark? That's a murderer's dream."

Either way, we'd managed to get here in one piece, and after a particularly hilarious (Maddie would say traumatising) subway ride and wandering the streets for around an hour, we were yet to be brutally murdered, a fact which I had been sure to mention to the red head in-between her complaints. A huff from behind alerted me to the fact that my friend had caught up, and the groan that followed told me she wasn't thrilled about the store in front of us.

"This place is filthy Els… I don't want to touch the door let alone one of the sandwiches."

"My god Maddie, stop being such a princess. I'm hungry and stepping into this store isn't going to kill you." I swatted her on the arm before turning and swinging the door open, "But if you stay out here alone, someone might."

That comment was all the prompt she needed to follow closely behind me into the small corner shop, the door swinging closed behind us with a soft jingle. A man stood behind the counter, his thick beard greying at the ends and his beige t-shirt blending nicely with the identically beige tiles on the wall behind him. He didn't move upon noticing our entrance, instead simply raising his gaze towards us and offering a small nod.

"Afternoon ladies, what can I get ya?" I greeted him in like before heading towards the counter. I didn't miss the way Maddie noticeably shuddered before taking a step back.

"What would you recommend?" I queried, scanning the menu board which boasted an impressive amount of different sandwich styles, some of which I wouldn't necessarily say were a good idea.

"I've been told the number five is to die for." He grinned, jabbing his thumb towards the board and directing my attention to the description.

"To die for doesn't normally mean it will actually kill you…" I ignored the quiet mumble of distaste from my friend behind me, not missing the way the man's brow furrowed in annoyance.

"We'll have two of those then." I offered an apologetic smile to the man who nodded before turning and calling over his shoulder.

"Dos números cinco para las chicas ricas." I groaned internally as he called out the order to his co-worker. Despite the fact that we _were_ both rich girls, as he had said, there was nothing more that Maddie hated than someone pointing it out. I dropped my head into my hand in exasperation as Maddie cleared her throat from behind me.

"Disculpa, si vas a insultar a alguien, no lo hacen en un idioma que hablan." She folded her arms over her chest, tilting her head with a smile laced with venom. The man seemed to falter slightly at her comment, yet didn't offer any words in response.

"You see, that's what a good education can buy you." She rolled her eyes, flicking her hair over her shoulder with far too much attitude for my liking.

"Mads…" I warned with a glare, urging her to stop aggravating the man currently making our food. I bit my lip to stifle my laughter as she narrowed her eyes at me.

"I didn't need any kind of rich kid education to get where I am today. Hard work, that's what's important." He retorted, clearly un-phased by her rude comments.

"Of course, because owning a sandwich shop in Queens is truly the peak of-"

"Madelyn I think you've said enough, unless you want this nice man to spit in your sandwich." I offered her a sweet smile before turning to the shop owner.

"I'm sorry about my friend, she doesn't often leave her penthouse." He breathed a laugh before sending me a nod and a smile and turning his attention back to our food.

I turned on my heel, very much ready for a hushed argument about manners with my accomplice when the bell above the door offered another quiet jingle. Two boys around our age entered, engaged in what seemed to be a heated discussion about Star Wars before they noticed us and fell silent. I quirked a brow towards them as they froze, offering me matching stunned expressions. Now this could have been for a few different reasons. One, neither of these boys had ever seen a girl in real life. Plausible. Two, there were two girls in designer clothing standing in a sandwich shop in Queens. Also a possibility. Three, and most likely, one or both of the two boys in front of me had recognised my face, leading to the state of shock that my identity often elicited. Either way, I chose to ignore it, instead turning back to my friend with a stern glare.

"Peter, Ned, good to see you both." The man behind the counter greeted the new company in a way that told me they were close acquaintances.

"Hey Mr Delmar." The smaller of the two boys replied, sending the man a quick wave and a nod, glancing back towards us in the process.

"Hey, make sure you don't insult the angry red-head over there," He warned, gesturing to Maddie who's lips had pulled into a pout as her brows furrowed into a frown. "She speaks Spanish."

My hand quickly covered my mouth, poorly attempting to mask my snort of laughter which had been louder than I'd anticipated. I earned myself a slap on the arm for that outburst. The boy paused, his eyes flicking between the two of us before he nodded slightly.

"Noted…" With that he turned back to the counter, relaying his and his friend's orders whilst engaging in casual chatter with the shop owner. His friend however, Ned I think it was, hadn't taken his eyes off us since they'd walked in. In fact, he was now watching us slightly wide eyed and a little startled. He turned towards his friend, tugging on his sleeve and leaning in closer, presumably to whisper.

"Dude, that's Elizabeth Stark." He wasn't very good at whispering.

I breathed a laugh at his comment, taking a few steps forward so I was almost standing directly beside him before I leaned in.

"You need to work on your whispering Ned."

"What? Oh- yeah- um, wait - you know my name?" He stumbled over his words, caught off guard by both my presence and my comment. Maddie giggled from behind me, rolling her eyes with a smirk.

"Yeah, the guy literally just said it…" I explained as a wave of understanding washed over his face. "You're Ned, and you…" I turned to his friend with a smile, "You're Peter."

"Peter Parker," He offered me his hand to shake, which I did with a small laugh at the formality of his greeting.

"Elizabeth Stark." I responded in like, taking his hand politely. Peter Parker… where had I heard that name before?

"Yeah, you did that speech at our school earlier this week... it's really cool, what you're doing with the Ivy Foundation. Like, that's amazing that you created something like that." He rambled slightly, bringing a soft smile to my face as he attempted to get his point across.

"It's a pretty big deal yeah... thanks though, I'm really proud of it. The Ivy Foundation is like... my baby." I laughed somewhat awkwardly at the cheesy analogy I'd used, shaking my head mostly to myself with a sigh. Thankfully, Ned soon broke the awkwardness between us before either of us made a fool of ourself.

"Wait, you two haven't met?" Ned was pointing between Peter and I in confusion.

"Should we have…?" I questioned, releasing Peter's hand and turning my curious gaze towards his friend.

"Well… no, I suppose not… I just thought that maybe you would have met at some point through the Stark internship." He offered his explanation before falling silent. I noticed Peter tense slightly at the mention of the internship, and I think I understood why.

Now, I wasn't overly involved in my brother's business, not since I accidentally insulted a state senator that one time. However, I still knew what was going on at all times. Call it obsessive if you like, but I just preferred to know what kind of dangerous nonsense my brother was getting himself into. In all of my, purely out of concern, digging into Tony's business, I'd never come across anything about an internship. So what I was curious about, was how I had definitely heard the name Peter Parker mentioned. I'd be sure to dig into that a little deeper when I had the chance. My long silence had cast a visible sense of unease over Peter, who was now shuffling awkwardly on his feet as he struggled to think of a response.

"Of course, the internship…" I quickly replaced my confusion and suspicion with a smile, immediately putting the boy at ease. "I don't get too involved with my brother's business, but I've heard a lot about this."

"You have?" Peter replied far too quickly, his eyes widening slightly as his unease returned.

"Yep, Tony and I share everything… no secrets between us." I bit the inside of my cheek as I made a mental note to yell at Tony for keeping secrets later.

"Oh… great.. that's really good, you know… family being close and… telling each other things. It's great." Yeah he was hiding something.

We were cut off by Mr Delmar announcing that our sandwiches were ready. I handed him the money before taking the food with a word of thanks. I passed one to Maddie who, despite her wrinkled nose, took the foil package from me before giving it a quick sniff.

"Anyway… we should get going." I turned towards the door, swinging it open and letting Maddie pass through before I turned back. "Perhaps I'll see you around." I'd meant to direct my comment to both of the boys, yet my gaze remained locked onto Peters'.

"Uh- yeah, see you around." He stuttered out, lifting his hand in an awkward half wave as he forced a smile. I released a quiet laugh before slipping out of the store and catching up with Maddie, who was clutching her sandwich as though someone might just walk past and snatch it from her hand.

"Elizabeth Maria Stark, I thought you said you knew where we were going." Madelyn snapped as I offered a half hearted shrug.

"I actually never said that…" I replied with a confident smirk, batting my lashes at her as I flicked my hair off my shoulder. "I knew where I was going when I had maps, it's not my fault our phones have a crappy battery life."

"Well you better start working it out pretty soon, I am not going to die in some dirty back alley in Queens." She folded her arms over her chest, her eyes filled with a fire that matched the colour of her hair.

"Chill out Mads, no one is going to die you're so dramatic." I huffed, getting an idea as I spotted a phone booth across the street. I crossed the road quickly, picking up the phone and listening for a dial tone. The quiet beep sounded through the speaker and I grinned in pride, before I spotted the words on the small dirty screen. _Please insert change_. Well that's inconvenient.

"I need change, do you have any cash?" I turned to my friend expectantly, only to be greeted with a frown.

"I have literally never carried cash in my life… that's what a credit card is for." I dropped my head back with a loud groan before hanging the phone back up.

"Okay… this is fine, we don't need change." I held up my hands with a smile before turning back to the phone.

"What the hell are you doing?" Maddie complained as I began to pry the front off the machine.

"Having a mechanic for a brother has its perks you know." I grinned before waving her away and continuing with my work.

It took around ten minutes of fiddling with wires and most likely breaking things beyond repair, but finally I succeeded. The words on the small dirty screen had changed, now displaying a much more positive message. _8 minutes remaining_. That should be plenty long enough. I lifted the phone to my ear, pressing a sequence of numbers that would surely help us out of our predicament.

"Who are you calling Els?" Maddie leaned over my shoulder, moving her head closer to the phone in an attempt to listen in.

" _Hello, who is this?_ " the voice crackled through the line as Maddie stepped back, shooting me a glare.

"You didn't." Her words were practically a growl. I chose to ignore her, instead responding to the person I had called.

"Happy! Hey… it's Els here…" My voice was far too chipper for the current situation, immediately rousing suspicion with my conversational partner.

" _Elizabeth? Why is this an unknown number? Where are you calling from?_ "

"Umm… a filthy payphone on a street corner in Queens…"

" _Queens!? What the hell are you doing in Queens? Does Tony kno-_ " I quickly cut him off.

"No, Tony does not know, and I would be eternally grateful if you didn't tell him… we could use a ride home…"

" _We? Who's we?_ " Maddie shook her head furiously in a way that said, don't you dare. Unfortunately for her… I did.

"Well that would be myself and Maddie…" I dragged out my sentence, bracing myself for what was to come.

" _Maddie?! What the hell are you two thinking? Madelyn Faith Hogan…"_ He began to shout before realising she probably couldn't hear _. "Elizabeth Stark, you put her on the phone right now._ "

"Sorry Happy Madelyn isn't available right now but if you leave a message she'll get back to you later." Apparently my humorous comment wasn't received in the way I had intended.

" _Elizabeth I am not joking around right now, put her on the phone._ "

"Sorry i've almost run out of minutes, no more change! We're on 39th street, just off Queens boulevard, gotta go time's out!" I quickly hung up the phone, before turning towards Maddie with a sheepish smile.

"That was really smooth Els, really well done. I'll be sure to write you a letter from my prison of an apartment i'm going to be confined to for the next 8-10 years."

"Sorry… it was all I could think of…" I apologised, dropping to sit on the curb. The sun had long since set, leaving us shrouded in the darkness of the late evening. "If it's any consolation, I'm for sure grounded too." Maddie's glare told me that it was no consolation whatsoever.

"If we get murdered, I'm going to kill you." She snapped, taking a seat on the curb beside me as she pulled her coat tighter around her shoulders.

"There are so many things wrong with that statement…" I began before she narrowed her eyes at me. "…but I am not going to mention any of them."

"On the plus side… if we're dead we can't be grounded." I shrugged, wincing as Maddie slapped my shoulder before the rattle of a bin lid startled her into silence.

"Elizabeth Stark, I hate you."

—

Hello my darlings. I hope that anyone who is taking the time to read this is enjoying it as much as I enjoy writing it! I've had a few busy weeks at work leading up to christmas, but one more week and I have some time off to dedicate to churning out a few more chapters of Elizabeth's story! As I am unable to do anything to a plan, I already have a few distant future chapters and scenes written, and I can assure you things are going in great (and dramatic) directions.

As always please do drop me a review if there's any opinions, praise, or constructive criticism you have. All ideas are welcome and you may help shape this story for the better!

Amelie


	4. The Ivy Foundation

As much as I had hoped I could trust Happy to keep mine and Madelyn's escapades to himself, a part of me knew that he had immediately called Tony as soon as I put the phone down. Those concerns were proved to be warranted as soon as I stepped through the door. If the intensely silent car journey home had been uncomfortable, it was nothing in comparison to how I felt meeting the steely gaze of my brother as he waited for me in the kitchen. I don't think I had ever felt more like a 15 year old child than I did in that moment.

"Hey Tony... What's up?" I chuckled nervously, keeping my back to the door as I slowly pushed it closed. My eyes flicked between him and a spot on the wall that had suddenly become particularly fascinating.

"What's up?" He began, those two words making me wince slightly as I prepared myself for what was to come. "Oh I don't know Elizabeth, maybe what's up is the fact that my 15 year old sister was wandering around Queen's at 11pm. Are you asking to be mugged or what...? What the hell were you thinking?!" I rolled my eyes, slipping off my coat and slinging it over the back of the sofa.

"Come on Tony, don't you think that's a little dramatic? We went to get some food and we just sorta... lost track of time, and then my phone died..." I shrugged nonchalantly, glancing down at the phone in my hand as it buzzed before meeting his eye with a quirk of my lips. "Plus, I carry a rape alarm."

I immediately realised that was the absolute opposite of the right thing to say as he tensed his jaw, a fire in his eyes that I had not often seen directed at me.

"Elizabeth Maria Stark, don't you DARE make a joke of this. I swear to god-" I flinched as he spoke, a sharp edge to his words that forced me to take a step back. He stopped himself, sucking in a deep breath and pressing his fingertips to his temples. It was suddenly silent and I found myself feeling as though his shouting might actually be preferable to the thick tension that hung in the quiet space between us.

"Give me your phone." He held out his hand, gesturing with his fingers for me to hand it over.

"Wha-" he cut me off before I could finish uttering a single word.

"Give me your goddamn phone Elizabeth!" The phone was in his palm before he even finished his sentence, I had closed the space between us and hurried back to my previous spot so quickly it may not have even been visible. I played with my fingers, picking at my nails, twisting my rings, anything to keep my hands busy now that I didn't have the familiarity of my phone. I watched as he slipped the device into his pocket.

"You can have it back tomorrow, and that's only because you have a meeting." I nodded silently, unable to meet his eye, hesitating slightly before I responded.

"Um, I use it for my alarm..." The response was feeble, barely above a whisper, my voice breaking as I spoke.

"Friday, wake Els up at 8am tomorrow."

"Of course Mr Stark." Of course. There was no way I was getting my phone back tonight. Whatever that buzz had been earlier would have to wait till morning. We stood there a little longer, the silence still thick between us. This wasn't something either of us were used to. First of all, Tony was far too chilled of a parental figure to ever shout at me for doing anything and secondly I'd never done anything that required any kind of reprimand. It was an unfamiliar and uncomfortable situation for the both of us, I knew that.

"Go to bed." His voice wasn't raised any more, but his words still stern. I nodded, mumbling out an okay before grabbing my coat and bag and rushing off down the hallway.

I closed the door quietly behind me as a few unwelcome tears rolled down my cheeks. I quickly wiped them away, changing into pyjamas and climbing into bed. Despite the fact it was now midnight at this point, I switched the TV on, not really caring what I was watching but just needing the distraction. I had barely suffered through 5 minutes of Keeping up with the Kardashian's re-runs when there was a soft knock at my door. I cleared my throat, sitting up slightly in bed with a sniff.

"Come in."

The door opened slowly to reveal Tony, a mug clutched in his hand and a soft smile on his face.

"Hey kiddo..." He closed the door quietly behind him and crossed the room, sitting on the edge of my bed with a sigh. He peered over his shoulder before turning fully to face me and holding out the mug in my direction.

"Peace offering?" I regarded the mug for a second before taking it from him, resting it in my lap as it warmed my hands. I muttered my thanks, taking a small sip of the tea before placing it on the bedside table.

"Look, I'm not going to pretend I'm not still mad, and you are most definitely still in trouble... but I am sorry for raising my voice."

"It's fine." I shrugged, pulling my duvet up over my chest and wrapping my arms around myself.

"It's not fine... you're not stupid, yeah you did a stupid thing but you're not a dumb kid, and I shouldn't have treated you like one." I remained silent, simply nodding in response, still feeling slightly uneasy from the whole situation. Neither of us spoke for a moment, letting the quiet linger.

"I got this phone call from Happy saying he'd picked you up off a freakin' street corner in Queens and I just had this... panic, you know. All I could think about was getting that call from the cops, or the hospital. It just... freaked the hell out of me. It's my job to look after you now, and I know I don't do that right all of the time but I try."

I softened at his words, breathing a sigh as I dropped the duvet and shuffled towards him, wrapping my arms around his neck in a tight hug. He quickly reciprocated, his arms tighly snaked around my back.

"You do a great job Tony, I promise."

"Honestly 99% of the time I swear it's you looking after me."

"That's because you're a train wreck..." I offered him a sweet smile to counter the insult I'd just thrown.

"Hey, I could still ground you if I wanted. Watch your mouth." His smirk challenged the seriousness of his words and I relaxed, dropping back onto my pillows.

"So... does this mean I can have my phone back?" I tested, knowing it was slightly cheeky but remaining hopeful.

"Don't push it. Go to sleep." He shoved me away, standing and heading for the door. He paused as he stepped through, peering back over his shoulder. "Night kid."

"Night Tony, love you." I blew him a kiss, accompanied by a grin.

"Love you too squirt."

8am came far too fast, with the peaceful sounds of Friday's alarm waking me gently. I made a mental note to ask Friday to wake me more often, preferring her methods much more than the blaring alarm from my phone. I reached out to the bedside table, my hand meeting the empty surface in confusion, taking me a few seconds for the realisation to hit me that Tony still had my phone. A groan escaped my lips as I rolled over, dropping ungracefully out of bed and onto the plush carpet below. Unfortunately there would be no lie-in for me today, with Mr Harrington and his 'gifted students' arriving in around 3 hours, and a lot of prepping to do before then.

My shower was much faster today, no time for pampering as I quickly washed my hair and body before stepping out and wrapping a towel around me. I remained this way, wrapped in the soft bath sheet as I blow dried my hair, using my straighteners to add a few soft waves. Due to the fiasco that was the following evening, I hadn't had time to pick out an outfit for today. I glanced down at my watch, noting that I still had a couple of hours before they were due to arrive, plenty of time to get everything done. My grumbling stomach quickly made itself a priority and I hurried out to the kitchen, desperately in search of a croissant and a mug of coffee. I was, amazingly, greeted by both of those things ready and waiting for me on the kitchen counter beside Tony who cradled his own mug close, as though it were as precious as a new born child.

"Oh my goodness are those for me? Is this another peace offering? What have you done?" He laughed, waving me away with a frown.

"Can't I make my favourite sister breakfast without being suspected of some crime?"

"I'm your only sister..." I countered, taking a sip of the coffee followed by a large bite of the croissant, the buttery flaky pastry warming both my body and soul.

"That we know of... we all know what dad was like back in the day." I frowned, dropping onto the bar stool and scrunching my nose.

"First of all, don't sully his name like that God rest his soul, and second, I really don't need to think about dad's... dalliances in his younger years." Tony barked out a laugh, patting me on the shoulder before finishing his coffee.

"You make a good point... now, finish your breakfast and go get ready, gotta be in top shape for this meeting." I nodded with a shrug, taking a disinterested swig of my coffee, peering at him over the brim of the mug.

"It's just a school teacher and some kids." He shook his head, his hands grasping my shoulders and shaking me slightly. I coughed as I breathed in my coffee, choking out a laugh and shrugging him off of me.

"It's an opportunity Els, don't treat it like it's anything less." He was right, I knew that. Dad always used to say that the littlest things can lead to something great... who knows, this could be the making of my career and/or life. I agreed quietly as he hopped up, muttering about the busy day ahead of him as he walked away.

"Oh, I almost forgot..." He paused in his exit, turning and throwing my phone the small distance between us, which I thankfully caught with ease. I grinned in response, blowing him and kiss before turning back to my phone.

By the looks of it I hadn't missed much. A text from Maddie telling me how horrible her evening had been, an email from Mr Harrington confirming that they were all running on schedule, and, unsurprisingly, another text from Noah. I reluctantly opened the message, scanning the words he had sent the previous night.

" _Hey Elizabeth, I was wondering if you were free tomorrow, maybe we could grab some lunch?"_ I rolled my eyes, truly longing for the day he would stop. He wasn't a bad person, and he certainly wasn't unattractive, he just didn't interest me. Not many people did if I was being honest. Perhaps someday I would find someone who captivated me, someone who kept me coming back over and over out of pure fascination and love. Unfortunately, today was not that day, and Noah was not that someone.

"So sorry Noah, super busy with meetings today." I read the words out loud as I wrote them. Short but sweet. I hit send and dropped my phone onto the counter, finishing my breakfast quickly and shuffling back to my room in my fluffy sheep slippers before dropping down in front of my mirror. I opted for a natural makeup look today, a bit of concealer to cover the imperfections and a layer of mascara. I dusted a coat of blush over my cheeks and applied a slick of tinted lip balm and I was ready to go. Now, to find an outfit.

I wasn't planning on dressing smart today, not in the comfort of my own home. I'd originally scheduled the meeting to take place in one of the smaller office spaces, but I'd quickly decided against that idea, thinking it too formal for what the meeting was regarding and who it was with. Instead, I was going to set up the spacious lounge and kitchen, so that we could chat in a much more comfortable and less rigid space. I chuckled at the image of myself and a bunch of other 15 year olds, all sitting around a meeting table like a bunch of stuffy old businessmen; not really the vibe I wanted to go for. Which is why I decided to choose an outfit to match the casual occasion. I slipped into my most comfortable pair of high waisted cropped black jeans, pairing them with a pale gray oversized jumper and white converses. I admired the outfit in the mirror for a moment, playing with the little white pearls that were scattered like stars over the entirety of the thin grey wool. I fiddled with its placement for a bit, settling on having it hang slightly off my left shoulder. I decided to leave my hair down, testing out a ponytail and a bun before I was finally happy with the way I looked, ready to get on with setting up the room.

Admittedly, there wasn't a whole lot to set up. I'd ordered in what was essentially a buffet, which was due to arrive at around 12, just in time for lunch. I'd also stocked the fridge with cans of Pepsi, lemonade, bottles of water and a few cartons of juice, truly prepared for any dietary tastes I may encounter with my guests.

I still wasn't sure who Mr Harrington would be bringing with him, just that there were four students - two girls and two boys - who he considered to be especially gifted in the sciences and could benefit from the facilities and knowledge I had to offer. I had to admit I was curious to meet these kids, and I was especially excited to give them a tour of the lab space we had here, which I planned to let them use as part of the course, for both classes and their own work. I hadn't told them about that part yet, figuring it would be much more fun as a surprise.

"Miss Elizabeth, your guests are here, should I send them up?" I clapped my hands together before readjusting my jumper and flicking my hair over my shoulder.

"Yes please Friday, send them my way." I pulled out my phone once again, setting myself a mental reminder to give Maddie a call when I was all done here. I didn't miss the speedy response from Noah, but I chose to ignore it as I heard voices along the corridor. Slipping the device back into my pocket, I headed for the door, poking my head out and catching sight of the five guests who headed towards me.

"Ah Miss Stark!" Mr Harrington beamed as he approached.

"Just Elizabeth is fine, hello again Mr Harrington." I smiled, inviting him in with a shake of his hand. The students followed behind him closely, their eyes taking in the space around them. I had to admit myself it wasn't half bad, and I would always feel lucky being able to live here, not that I would be for much longer. Tony was moving everything to the upstate facility, including me. It wasn't the most convenient of his ideas, as I would now have to travel back and forth almost daily, but I had to admit, the upstate facility was a favourite of mine. And I got a whole suite to myself there...

A stepped aside to allow them to enter. A spacious kitchen to the right led onto a large loung area, filled with two unnecessarily large corner sofas and a coffee table, all of which was set in front of floor to ceiling glass windows which opened up in the centre onto a balcony overlooking New York. I could see why you could be in awe seeing it for the first time; I felt that way most days, and it was a view I was going to miss waking up to.

A very pretty, tall girl with dark hair was the first behind Mr Harrington, a polite smile and a quiet hello directed at me as she passed. She was followed by another dark haired girl, still pretty though a bit scruffy looking, her curly hair sticking out of her ponytail. She gave me no more than a small nod, seemingly, though I'm sure not actually, uninterested in what was going on. I faltered slightly as the next student walked in, a familiar shock of brunette hair and boyish smile. My lips stretched into a grin.

"Two days in a row... Peter Parker, are you stalking me?" I rested a hand on my hip and quirked a brow, his smile becoming a nervous chuckle.

"I promise I'm not stalking you." He held his hands up in surrender as I narrowed my eyes.

"That's exactly what a stalker would say..." His anxious smile became a toothy grin and I mirrored his expression.

"Hey Elizabeth." A shorter but no less familiar boy sent me a quick wave from behind Peter.

"Ned hey! Perhaps you're the stalker."

"Guilty... but I didn't wanna see you I was just stalking you for this amazing view and also the food." I nodded in understanding.

"That's what most people want me for Neddie." He raised a brow at my affectionate nickname, the upturn of his lips telling me he didn't mind. "Come in, sit down, get comfortable. Does anyone want anything to drink?" Everyone politely declined my offer for drinks, aside from Ned who gratefully accepted a can of Pepsi.

"I think introductions are in order!" Mr Harrington dropped onto one of the sofas, as did the two girls and Peter and Ned. I opted for the arm chair that gave me a view of everyone in the room.

"So first up we have Liz Allen," He gestured towards the tall pretty girl who gave me a quick wave. "Straight-A student, captain of the decathlon team and big on charity work." _Wow, hello little miss perfect_. I wondered for a second whether she knew how wonderful she was, but her timid smile and blush at his words told me she wasn't in it for the recognition. Clearly she was just naturally flawless, I had to give props to the girl.

"This here is Michelle Jones," This time he directed me towards the other girl, who offered a "what's up" in return. Apparently he didn't feel the need to elaborate any further on her background, her entire demeanour summing her up perfectly without the need for explanations.

"I would introduce you to Peter and Ned but it looks like you already know each other...?" I nodded, sinking back into my chair with a smirk.

"We had a brief encounter in a sandwich shop last night..."

"What an odd coincidence." Mr Harrington smiled, glancing between the boys and me.

"Or perhaps it's fate." My lips quirked slightly as I glanced at Peter. I'd never really been one to believe in fate, but from bumping into him in the shop, to discovering he was part of the mystery Stark Internship I was yet to investigate, and now him being here today. I had to say I was beginning to question my doubts; perhaps there was such a thing as fate.

"Anyway... it's really nice to meet you all. I've been so excited to find out who Mr Harrington considers his star students." I hopped up from my seat, clasping my hands in front of me and sending each of them a smile.

"Before we all get too comfortable, I was thinking perhaps we could start off with a tour of the lab facilities we have here?" I practically saw the light in Peter's eyes light up at the prospect, and unsurprisingly he was the first out of his chair.

"That would be wonderful!" Mr Harrington also stood, beaming from ear to ear at how positively the first five minutes of their visit had gone.

"Great! If you all wanna follow me then," I started towards the tall elevator doors that stood at the far side of the room, pausing momentarily, "Friday, could you please power up Lab-5, and add these guys to the access for the main building and lab space? Ooh, and could you also please make sure Alice brings up lunch when it's delivered. She can just leave it all on the kitchen counter."

"Right away, Miss Stark." I voiced my thanks to the AI, pressing the call button on the elevator and breathing out a laugh at the "Woah, cool" I heard from behind me.

The tour of the lab ended up taking around 30 minutes, as I found it was harder to drag a bunch of science nerds away from the high tech equipment we had here than I had initially thought. But it had been entertaining none-the-less, as I attempted to explain what equipment there was and how it worked, only to be interrupted every other sentence with a question or comment. It was like trying to control a group of pre-schoolers, telling them not to touch that or not to go over there. Part of me dreaded giving them access to this lab, considering the fact it was mine. Tony had outfitted and given me access to Lab-5 about 4 years ago, when he'd finally got fed up of me sneaking in and using his equipment for various experiments. Understandably, I'd grown quite attached to this room and its contents, especially considering the memories I had in here, with both Tony and Bruce.

Finally I'd managed to corral them, dragging Peter and Ned away from a machine they were currently inspecting with prodding fingers and ushering them all back into the hallway.

"What's down that way?" Liz queried, pointing down the hallway to the far end, where a large set of frosted glass doors stood.

"That's Tony's space. 100% off limits, unless you want your ass kicked by Iron Man." I shot her a sweet smile before herding them into the lift and instructing Friday to take us back up to the lounge.

Everyone was more than happy to finally sit down for lunch, the buffet disappearing quickly, everyone eating until they were fully sated. Casual conversation had gone back and forth between the group as we ate, far too many questions aimed at me as I struggled to answer them between mouthfuls of noodles. Thankfully, the Elizabeth Quiz finally ended and conversation seemed to fall into groups, giving me a chance to stop yammering on for the first time today. Instead, I busied myself clearing away the rubbish left from lunch, still picking at the buffet as I went.

"Do you want a hand?" I turned, greeted by Peter, a stack of plates and cutlery in his hands.

"I would love a hand, thanks." My speech was muffled slightly through the pastry I had stuffed into my mouth only moments before he had joined me. He snorted a laugh as I messily and ungracefully breathed crumbs everywhere as I spoke. We set to work, quietly at first, cleaning away the rubbish and pouring the leftovers into containers. I'd be finishing those off tomorrow for sure, and I couldn't wait. Eventually our quiet work started to become slightly awkward, and so I was first to break the silence.

"So, you're a gifted science student then?" Wow, good one Els, real conversation starter. I practically winced as I said it, realising immediately how dumb of a question it is. He laughed with a shrug.

"I mean, I am pretty special, at least that's what my Aunt May says." I breathed out a laugh, an idea forming... one that might give me a little insight.

"I suppose that's why you were chosen for the Stark Internship, right?" I noticed him tense slightly out of the corner of my eye. Still a touchy subject I see.

"Uh, yeah I suppose so. Or maybe I was just lucky..." I turned to face him, leaning against the counter and cocking my head slightly.

"Oh I dunno, my brother seems to think you're pretty special." His nervous laughter filled the space between us and I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"You'll have to tell me all about it sometime, I'd love to know how you're getting on." You could practically see his face drop, before he quickly regained his smile and cool facade.

"Oh, yeah definitely... for sure." A popular phrase is 'saved by the bell', though in this case, Peter was saved by Maddie and her big mouth. The doors of the elevator opened and I could hear her before I saw her.

"Girl I have so much drama from last night to tell you about, but first of all, I swear to god if your stupid boyfriend texts me one more time I-" She cut herself off, freezing as I quirked an amused brow in her direction.

"Hey Mads... welcome to our meeting come on in." I swept a hand across the room with a sweet smile.

"Wow, so I completely forgot this was today... Hi, everyone, so nice to see you all I'm Madelyn and I'm officially the worst." Thankfully everyone found the whole situation as amusing as I did.

"Hey Madelyn," Ned waved a friendly hand at the girl, a grin on his face.

"Oh, hey Ned... and Peter? Are you guys stalking us?" I couldn't help but laugh as Maddie repeated my earlier statement, both boys denying it profusely, her look of scepticism telling them she wasn't buying it. I cut in before she could say anything else to insult anyone further.

"Maddie, this is Mr Harrington, Liz Allen, and Michelle Jones." I introduced each of my guests in turn, leaving off Peter and Ned for obvious reasons. She busied herself with her own introductions, leaving Peter and I alone to our tidying once again. He stacked a pile of plates slowly, chewing on his lip as he seemed to be turning something over in his head.

"So... Relationship issues?" I glanced up at him in mild confusion, trying to work out what he was talking about. I didn't currently have, and wasn't planning to have any time soon, relationship issues. I didn't doubt that when I did finally find someone willing to put up with me, there would be a vast array of issues cropping up on the regular. But as of this moment, there was nothing to report. Clearly my confusion was evident as he continued.

"Maddie just said something about your boyfriend messaging her?" Realisation hit me and it was all I could do to cover my mouth with my hand as I barked out a muffled laugh.

"Oh wow, my god no, absolutely not!" I waved my hands dramatically, shaking my head with wide, amused, eyes. I could have been wrong but I sensed a hint of relief at my quick correction. "He's just this guy, Noah, who I met at one of Tony's parties a month back. He somehow got hold of my number and has been texting me incessantly ever since. When I ignore his messages, it looks like he's turning to Mads for some answers. I am the furthest from interested in that as I could possibly be, don't worry."

"Oh, I uh... I wasn't worried, I just-" His attempt at a nonchalant shrug wasn't fooling anyone, yet I hurriedly stuttered out a response, realising my mistake as soon as I said it.

"No, no of course not. I didn't mean that you were worrying, why would you worry...? You know, just... completely single, no weird stalker boyfriend." That was embarrassing. Thankfully Peter was able to hold himself together better than me, and had recovered from the awkwardness quickly.

"Well, I'm glad to hear you don't have a weird stalker boyfriend."

"You know what, I'm glad too," I laughed, shaking my head and folding my arms over my chest, "Plus, I don't need another stalker, I already have you."

"Well yeah, and obviously I'm the better stalker, I mean, who does their stalking over text? He's gonna have to step up his game if he wants to be any kind of competitions for me."

"Can't argue with that." I shrugged, shooting him a smirk. I wasn't normally this completely and embarrassingly awkward with new people, but something about him just had me stumbling over my thoughts. Although, at the same time he put me at ease, just as easily as he rattled me, which was something I wasn't familiar with. As cheesy and generic as it sounds, it was like I'd known him for a long time, rather than only having met him twice.

"Well, we should probably..." I gestured towards the group, who were currently laughing at something Maddie was saying, probably some dramatic, embarrassing and more than likely an embellished tale about us and our adventures. She had always been a great storyteller.

"Oh, yeah, of course." He followed me back over to the sofas, dropping onto the cushions beside me. I noticed the brief but curious glance Maddie sent me as her gaze flicked between the two of us. I narrowed my eyes, a minute shake of my head telling her to keep whatever she was thinking off her lips as I addressed the group.

"So, it's been really great meeting you guys, and I hope you enjoyed the lab tour and lunch," I paused, glancing around the group once more before fully coming to my decision, although I'd already done that long before now if I were being honest with myself. "I really look forward to working with you all." Mr Harrington's smile stretched into a grin.

"You're going to do it? You'll work with them?" His excitement was somewhat childlike, and you could easily tell that his students and their futures were incredibly important to him.

"Well, you're all already registered for access to the building and the lab, so I guess I'll be seeing you sometime next week." Thankfully, everyone seemed pleased at my announcement, most noticeably Ned who had fist bumped Peter with a grin.

"How about we have a class every... Wednesday afternoon? Then you're welcome to come in and use the lab whenever you like, if there are any projects you wanted to work on or something."

"We can just turn up? Whenever we want?" Liz was the one to pose this question, slight disbelief on her features. I shrugged, pulling my lips into a small smile.

"Yeah sure, as long as you're careful and don't do anything stupid. I think you're all capable of working unsupervised... although Friday's always keeping an eye on the place if there's an emergency. Maybe I can give you all an induction next week, fire, health and safety and etcetera."

"Wow, that's... super generous and kind of you. Thank you so much!" The rest of the group echoed her sentiments, each of them allowing their excitement to show on their faces. As much as I denied that I was in this for personal gain, it did help me feel like a better person, my conscience pure and clear knowing I was helping to progress and improve their lives and futures.

"There's only so much I can do with that big lab to myself... who knows, maybe with you guys here too we could do something really amazing."

"I don't doubt that you will," The teacher clapped his hands together in delight before standing and glancing at his watch. "I suppose we should be heading off, we wouldn't want to keep you from your busy schedule!" I mirrored his actions, standing and sucking in a breath.

"Of course! So busy! It's a hectic life being a Stark." I shrugged with a laugh, taking a few steps towards the elevator, the rest of the group gathering their things and following behind. Maddie had made herself at home, lounging on the sofa closest to the window, scrolling through her phone to keep herself occupied until I was free. I tensed slightly as someone brushed against my arm, warm breath tickling my ear.

"Super busy day huh?" Peter's voice was a hushed whisper, standing close to me so that only I could hear. I glanced out of the corner of my eye, my lips pulling into a tight smile as I fought to conceal a laugh. He had me all figured out and he knew it.

"Netflix, food, and napping. What other way is there to spend a Saturday?" My voice was low and quiet, a breath tickling my neck as he breathed a laugh. He brushed past me, taking a few steps after the group before pausing and turning back.

"I don't think you're so different from us normal people... see you around Elizabeth Stark." I narrowed my eyes, the corner of my lips quirking just a touch as he stepped into the elevator, the doors closing behind him.

"See you around Peter Parker..." There was something about him I couldn't quite put my finger on. He was different, somehow, and yet he was completely average. I made a mental note to myself to figure him out.

"What, the holy hell, was that?" I choked as I sucked in a startled breath, Maddie managing to silently creep up behind me before voicing her question directly into my ear, my attention distracted at the time. I straightened, cocking my head with a shrug before breezing past her towards the sofa.

"What was what?"

"Oh-ho no... you are not playing miss innocence with me, you're easier to see through than a goddamn window Els. I saw that little interaction, what was that?" As I seemed to do on a daily basis, I rolled my eyes at her, scooping up my phone and distracting my gaze from her accusatory one.

"I honestly have no clue what you're talking about." She watched me, standing with her arms folded over her chest and her eyes narrowed, her scrutinising gaze beginning to make me slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh no..." My brow furrowed as I looked up at her, her narrowed eyes now wide, her lips hanging slightly apart as a wave of realisation washed over her features.

"Oh no what? What is it?" She moved forward quickly, pirching on the sofa beside me, the beginnings of a smirk twitching in the corners of her mouth.

"I thought maybe you had a little crush but no... you're curious about him, aren't you?" I frowned, failing to understand where she was going with this.

"What in gods name are you talking about Mads?"

"A crush is fine, they don't last, they fizzle out but this... I've known you since we were six years old Els, and I know you well enough to know that a curious Elizabeth is dangerous." Behind her amusement, there was a trace of concern laced within her words.

"Curiosity isn't dangerous Madelyn."

"It is when it's partnered with determination." She shifted in her seat, one leg folded under her as the other hung off the chair. "Do you remember when we found out about Tony being Iron Man, and little curious nine year old Elizabeth decided she needed to find out everything she could?" I sighed, lounging back against the cushions, knowing exactly where she was going with this.

"And tell me, do you remember your curiosity taking you to a disused weapons facility that wasn't so disused any more? Do you remember Tony having to come in and rescue you before you almost got yourself killed?" I suppose she had a point. I had always been one to let curiosity reign over common sense. "If nine year old Elizabeth's curiosity can do that, I dread to think where 15 year old Els will end up, chasing after this boy..."

"Honestly Mads, you need to stop worrying you're worse than Tony. Plus, that was different, my brother is a superhero who deals with dangerous people every single day... how dangerous can a totally normal, average 15 year old kid be, hmm? What's the worst that could happen?" She shook her head, dropping back onto the soft sofa cushions with a sigh.

"Famous last words my friend." A groan escaped me, my foot shoving her in the butt prompting her to swipe at me in retaliation.

"There's just something about him I can't put my finger on... I'm just going to do a bit of digging, I'm not going to put myself in danger so chill, okay?" It wasn't a lie, I didn't plan on putting myself in any danger to uncover his secrets. Plus, why would I have to? Unless he was hiding the fact he's actually a mass murderer, I don't think there was much for me to be concerned about. She raised her hands in defeat, eventually agreeing to leave it at that. For now at least.

It had taken a few hours but eventually I'd managed to shove Maddie towards the exit, forcing her to give me my evening to sit on my own and binge watch Sabrina on Netflix. It's not that I didn't love hanging out with her, it's just that sometimes, you gotta have a few hours of unjudged sofa lounging. As well as my TV show binge, I needed some time alone to do a little digging. It had taken about half an hour to even get started, trying to find a way around the firewalls protecting Tony's personal network, but eventually I had found my way into his files. Friday had offered a comment or two against my sneaking around, but had eventually settled into silence when I threatened to disable her.

I clicked through the various documents, so far finding nothing to do with an internship or the name Peter Parker. I did, however, spot my name a couple of times and had to force myself not to divert from my current path to check that out, though I did plan to go back to snoop at that later. I didn't like sneaking around, but if Tony hadn't told me about this "internship" by now then there was a reason. We didn't keep secrets often, and I had to admit I was slightly put out by the fact he was keeping something from me now. I convinced myself that should I not find anything of use in his files, I would confront him this evening. Either way, I was going to learn something new today.

My efforts turned out to be fruitless, finding no more than a few very vague, confidential documents on each of the Avengers, a great picture of Bruce and Tony I had taken at a gala, and something called the "training wheels protocol" which seemed as though it was something to do with a new suit. I turned my attention back to the file I had seen in my name, clicking back to the page and opening it up. The single folder opened to reveal a number of different folders, each named relevantly. The first I was drawn to was named "Els' 16th". It seemed as though, thankfully, Tony hadn't forgot that my 16th birthday was coming up in just a few months, a big milestone in any young person's life. I hadn't really planned on doing anything, which might turn out to be good if Tony was planning something instead. I made a mental note to keep my birthday free just in case. Obviously, I chose not to touch that folder, not wanting to ruin any surprises he might have hidden away in there, instead glancing over the rest of the files.

Tutoring; The Ivy Foundation; Lab-5; and Personal Docs accompanied the 16th birthday folder, nothing that was really of interest to me. I hadn't realised that Tony liked to keep track of my life so thoroughly, but I suppose it was handy seeing as I didn't keep track at all. My fingers froze where they hovered over the trackpad, a breath hitching in my throat as I scanned the word multiple times, my brain racing to catch up with what my eyes were seeing. It was amazing how a single word could grind every function in my body to a halt, even my heart feeling as though it had stopped beating.

HYDRA

I shook my head, wiggling my fingers to relieve the tingling numbness that had frozen them in place. I watched the mouse icon as it moved to the top right of the screen, clicking the red X and removing all traces of what I'd seen. I closed the laptop, resting my hands on top of it where it sat on my lap, sucking in a deep breath through my nose before blowing it away through my lips. That was a rabbithole I didn't need to jump into right now, maybe ever, and I certainly didn't need my past coming back to haunt me, not when everything was going so well. I didn't know what kind of information Tony kept in that folder, and honestly I didn't want to know. Perhaps it was his way of compartmentalising... hide it all away in a folder, arrange it into alphabetical order just to try to make sense out of it. That isn't the way I had dealt with it. I'm not even sure I had dealt with it... more like pushed it down into the crevices of my mind where I never stepped foot, hoping that maybe it would just waste away until eventually it no longer existed. I didn't need to be told that wasn't a healthy coping strategy, I was aware of that, but it was the only one I had and it was the one that had got me through the last 10-11 years mostly unscathed and successfully avoiding a mental break.

"Afternoon." My eyes shot up from the floor where they had been locked with a glazed stare. They followed Tony as he crossed the room, throwing his jacket over the back of the sofa and regarding me with a curious look. Though I was looking at him, all I could see was that word, branded into my brain and burning behind my eyes. I needed a distraction, and fast, which is probably what led me to abandon all sense of subtlety and blurt out my next words.

"What is the Stark Internship?" Tony frowned, leaning back into the sofa cushions and folding his arms over his chest.

"Hey Tony, how was your day?" He badly mimicked my voice, clearly a bit put out by my lack of greeting and blunt questioning. I rolled my eyes with a sigh, of course he would try to avoid the question.

"Hey Tony, how was your day?" I started, barely letting him open his mouth to respond before I continued, "What is the Stark Internship?" He sighed, his eyes not leaving mine as he tensed his jaw and squared his shoulders.

"The Stark Internship isn't something you need to be concerned with." Blunt. Nice.

"Since when are we keeping secrets, Tony? We don't do that, remember." My voice was low, his blunt response turning my irritation into anger.

"Elizabeth, let it go." I shook my head, sliding the laptop onto the chair beside me and standing.

"We don't keep secrets. Secrets are dangerous." I headed for the door, keen to get to my room and take a few minutes for myself just to calm down.

"Els... Elizabeth come on." I heard Tony's pleas as I left, but chose not to stop, slipping through the door and out of earshot, just catching the quiet "god dammit" as the door swung closed behind me.

* * *

Got a little bit more Elizabeth/Peter interaction in this chapter and I don't know about you but I am just ITCHING for more. There is so much more to come and oh my goodness I have some great Peter/Els scenes already written, I just need to stop being lazy and fill in the gaps between them all. Chapter 5 and 6 are in progress so hopefully wont take long to have those done and uploaded.

As always, let me know what you think! I've had some lovely comments that are really fuelling me to keep going with this.

Amelie


	5. Family Time

I hitched my black gym bag up onto my shoulder with one hand as I held the door open with the other, receiving a quiet thank you from Maddie as she entered the building ahead of me. The room flickered into life as she pressed the switch on the wall, the bright studio spotlights reflecting off the mirrored walls and removing every last trace of darkness. These were my favourite mornings, the kind where you wake up early and snooze in bed for a little before having the desperate urge to move. Those were the kind of mornings where I would call Maddie and tell her to meet me here, somewhere I could stretch out my tired muscles and get them working properly again.

Sometimes the studio felt more like home that my actual home. It was my own, if that made any sense. The hard wood floors felt familiar and cool under my feet, my hands resting comfortably on the bar that ran the length of the far wall. I slipped my bag from my shoulder, dropping it to the floor and promptly falling to sit down beside it. I gathered my hair in my hands, tipping my head upside down and twisting the dark strands into a tight bun, before securing it with the band that stretched around my wrist. Once I was happy it was secured tighly, I tipped my head to either side, stretching out my neck and groaning at the satisfying pop it made. I tapped away at my phone for a few minutes, connecting it to the speaker that sat in the corner of the room and scrolling through Spotify until I found the perfect playlist.

Maddie had busied herself changing out of her boots and into her pointe shoes, stretching out her feet and legs as she wound the silk ribbon expertly around her ankle, tying it in a perfect bow before tucking the loose ends neatly away from sight. I made a start with my stretches, moving into a seated straddle position and leaning down to my right leg, closing my eyes as I felt the familiar pull of my muscles.

"So, how's the snooping going? Found anything interesting yet?" I thought back to the evening of the meeting with the Ivy Foundation students, and the small disagreement Tony and I had over what he thought I should and shouldn't know. It had been a few weeks since then and the subject hadn't been brought up again. Unfortunately, due to that and due to the serious lack of information Tony kept on the mystery internship, I hadn't managed to learn anything new.

"Not a thing, not on the internship anyway." I sighed, it had been frustrating to say the least, searching high and low only to be left at a dead end each time.

"And on Parker?" Now that research area had brought me a little more success. I rested my elbows on the floor and my chin in my hands, still leaning towards my leg as I stretched.

"Not much, but enough. It's all kinda sad really..." I thought over what I had found. It hadn't been difficult, needing no more than a google search of his name for the news reports to surface. The headlines were all it took to draw me in, and I'd soon found myself around 20 news articles deep, learning anything and everything I possibly could.

 **Richard and Mary Parker confirmed deceased, leaving behind 4 year old son.**

"Turns out his parents passed away when he was really little. He ended up living with his Aunt and Uncle, which I thought was nice, like... at least he still had family, he wasn't completely alone. But it didn't take me long to find out that his uncle also passed away like, a couple of years ago." It was a heartbreaking story, and it made me wonder how he managed to walk around with that glowing and contagious smile on his face all the time. If anyone could understand what it was like to lose not one, but two parents at the same time, it was me. I got it, you had to smile, otherwise you'd cry. It never stopped being hard but that didn't mean that the world stopped turning, it carried on and you had to carry on with it.

"Wow. God that's horrible." That was the understatement of the year, I nodded with a sad smile, sighing as I pushed myself up to my feet.

"I suppose it makes sense now why he's always talking about his aunt May... she must be all the family he has."

"Kinda like you and Tony..." She suggested quietly before realising what she had said and glancing up at me with apologetic eyes. I shook my head with a smile.

"You know that isn't true. I have you... and a whole bunch of superheroes who have basically adopted me as their own." She snorted out a laugh, nodding in agreement. It was true, my family might have been small once but not any more, now it was neverending, big and beautiful.

"Maybe they should adopt Peter too?" She suggested as an afterthought, my hum of agreement quiet as I slipped on my foot thongs and took a few steps into the centre of the room. I stretched out my ankles quickly before testing out a single pirouette. Feeling stable enough, I stepped forward reaching my arms out in front of me before pushing off my back foot and launching into a series of a la seconde turns. These were the moments I could truly lose myself, letting the music flow through each of my muscles, guiding them on exactly how to move. I finished the turns, ending with my arms in front of me as I released a deep breath.

"Point your toes and straighten your knee. You're also dropping your chin, don't do that it'll throw you off centre." Maddie almost immediately offered her constructive critisicm. Of course, I knew all these things, I was just far from my usual A-game today, physically present but not so much mentally.

"You okay?" I turned my head to her and her concerned eyes, pulling my lips into a tight smile in an attempt to reassure.

"I'm good, just this contemp routine you know. I can't seem to put anything together that looks good and is easy enough." I complained, spinning on my toes and testing out a few different possibilities for steps to add to the routine. I stopped what I was doing as I recieved a doubtful "mm-hmm" from my friend, turning to see her watching me with a raised brow.

"What?" I propped my hands on my hips, my stance accompanied with a frown.

"I don't think the routine is the issue here Els. You could choreograph a contemporary routine in your sleep and it would look incredible. I think your problem is that once you decide you need to know everything, you just cannot let it go." She was right. I knew she was right. The routine would be fine, I just couldn't stop thinking about everything. Tony and his secrets, Peter and his unfortunate life, me and my incessant need to know everything.

"You're right. I can't let it go, I can never let things go once they've caught my interest. It's like an addiction I NEED to know. It's just frustrating, you know... Tony wont tell me anything, my usual ability to uncover secrets myself seems to be failing me. What else can I do?" I flailed my arms dramatically, my lips falling into a pout.

"Well... Tony seems to be a dead end so maybe you should go elsewhere for answers." I remained silent, waiting with expectation to see if she might elaborate on what she was suggesting. She groaned, dropping her head back in frustration at my clear lack of understanding.

"Peter. Talk to Peter dumbass. He's the one doing this internship so he obviously knows what's really going on!" My mouth formed an O as I realised what she was suggesting. An obvious suggestion really, when I thought about it. "Plus, this is you Els... you have an uncanny ability to be able to get boys to say or do whatever you want. It shouldn't be to hard to get him to spill the beans."

"Yeah... I suppose you are right." I shrugged, stepping into another pirouette as I considered the options. It was all well and good telling me to speak to Peter, but I only ever saw him once a week, and that was always in the company of Ned, Liz and Michelle... I could hardly quiz him in the lab in front of everyone.

"I need a way to get him alone..."

"Ooh girl now we're talking." Maddie shot me a wink, followed swiftly by an air kiss.

"Drag your mind out of the gutter for one minute will you... I don't mean it like that. I just need to be able to talk to him without a bunch of other people around." I chewed my lip in thought, wracking my brain for any situation I could construct in which we could be alone without it being weird.

"Ask him on a date." Maddie's suggestion came with a shrug, and I rolled my eyes at the ignorant simplicity of her statement.

"I'm not going to ask him on a date." She grumbled quietly about how I shouldn't ask for suggestions if I was going to immediately shoot them down, to which I quickly reminded her that I hadn't explicitly asked for suggestions.

"I suppose I could tell him I have something I wanted to show him, or run by him in the lab... that's realistic, right?" I received a thoughtful pout in response.

"Yeah, I suppose... but what happens when he turns up and you have nothing to show him? It's just you, and your questions." She had a point. I couldn't make something up otherwise he would realise immediately and think I was crazy. No one wants to tell their secrets to a crazy person. If I wanted this to work, I didn't just need to make something up... I needed to actually find a reason to bring him there.

"Tony has a bunch of cool things in his lab... I'm sure there will be something interesting in there I could lure Peter in with." My lips tugged into a small but devious smile.

"Damn, okay Ursula the sea witch, once you lure him in don't forget to steal his soul." I kicked at her discarded sock, flicking it up at her and successfully hitting her in the face for her remark.

"I don't want his soul..." I turned to walk away, pausing and glancing over my shoulder as I went, "Just all of his secrets."

"You're insane." I grinned; she wasn't wrong.

I leaned back in my chair, the rigid metal creaking as I reached my arms up above my head, stretching out my aching back. I'd been sat in this workshop since I got back from the dance studio at 10:30am. It was now 7:30pm. My brother may call me a great many things, but lazy and unambitious were not descriptors that had ever left his mouth. My determination didn't stop at my need to uncover secrets, reaching out into everything I did in my life. Once I started working on something, I wouldn't stop until it was complete. Tony and I were alike in that way. Hard-working almost to a fault. Though that came in handy, as he could hardly criticise me for spending the entire day in the workshop when he'd spent many a sleepless night tolling away in the exact same room. I stifled a yawn as a quiet beep alerted me to the door opening.

"Wanna come up for air kiddo?" I didn't turn to face him, instead leaning back over the chair and regarding him from upside down. His eyes scanned over the cluttered desk before me. "What the heck are you working on...?"

I hopped up, swiping away the work that sat in messy piles of paper scattered across the desk. I gathered the papers up, stuffing them into a large black folder and clipping it shut before piling it into the one of the nearby storage cupboards. I skipped over to him, placing a finger over my lips with a shush.

"Top secret bro." I attempted to slip past him but his arm easily blocked my exit.

"I'll find out what you're up to... you can't hide anything from me." His lips were pulled into a smug smirk as he spoke, and mine quickly matched.

"You'd be surprised." His smile dropped, his brow knotting into a frown as I ducked under his arm and out into the hallway.

"Tell me your secrets Elizabeth!" He called from behind, catching up to me at the elevator. I turned to face him, tilting my head slightly, deviousness lurking behind the innocence in my eyes.

"You first." He frowned as I batted my lashes, knowing full well that I'd won this one. He chose to ignore me, stepping into the elevator as the doors opened and beginning a separate conversation.

"I've ordered in Chinese. Pepper should be home any minute, so we're going to stuff our faces, watch a crappy movie, and tell each other about our days."

"Like a completely normal average family," I grinned at him, my amusement at the notion clear.

"Exactly. So stop being weird and start acting normal." I raised my hand in a salute, frowning as he batted it away and called me an idiot.

"Come on Tony, nothing about this family is normal and it never will be." His silence and narrowed eyes confirmed his agreement, and I shot him a smug look before stepping out into the lounge.

Admittedly, the evening had ended up feeling exactly how we had joked. It was normal. Pepper relayed her busy and hectic day, Tony told us all about what was going on at the facility upstate, and I remained tight lipped about my top secret project in the workshop. I'd complained about my struggle to choreograph a good routine for the first of many contemporary classes I'd be running as part of the Ivy Foundation, to which Tony had said I was being ridiculous and asked to see the routine. Both my brother and Pepper had offered their words of praise once I had finished the short dance and settled back on the sofa, quelling my worries somewhat.

The Chinese food had gone down and treat, and within no time we were all stuffed, lounged comfortably on the sofas, wrapped in blankets and not really paying attention to Harry Potter, who was currently in the midst of being chased by a Basilisk.

"So, how is everything going with the foundation? F.R.I.D.A.Y. tells me you've been working with a few students from Midtown High?" The corner of my mouth twitched as I fought a smile, an idea forming.

"Yeah I have been, four 'gifted' students who one of the teachers there thought would benefit from working with me."

"And are they?" My head lolled to one side on the cushion, facing my brother with a knitted brow.

"Are they what?"

"Gifted." I responded with a quiet 'oh' of understanding, sending him a small nod.

"Yeah, I mean, they're smart kids. Give them the opportunity to do something great and they'll do it. I've given them access to Lab-5 any time they want, so they can work on their own projects as well as what we're doing." I paused, noting the fact that all of his attention was currently on me. Perfect.

"There is one kid though... he's really something else." This piqued his interest somewhat, and so I continued. "He's just really smart you know, but there's something else about him that I just can't seem to put my finger on. I think you might have met him at some point...?" He furrowed his brow with a frown, shrugging his shoulders slightly before shaking his head.

"No idea kid," I narrowed my eyes so minutely that I can't imagine it was noticeable.

"His name's Peter Parker." I didn't miss the way he visibly tensed at the name, and I knew I'd hit a spot there. I'd given up on outright asking about the mysterious Stark Internship, and decided that perhaps a more tactful approach might prove more successful. Tony didn't know what went on behind closed doors... Peter could have spilled anything to me.

"You okay?" I pressed my lips together to fend off the smirk that fought for place. He cleared his throat, readjusting in his seat, suddenly extremely interested in Harry Potter's plight.

"Yep, I'm great." I raised a brow, giving him a chance to give me a proper response before I had to take a less subtle route. Thankfully he continued. "This Peter kid... sounds like a bit of an idiot."

"I haven't told you anything about him yet." He tensed his jaw, the cogs of his brain visibly working overtime.

"He's a teenage boy, they're all idiots. Don't trust teenage boys, they lie so you'll think they're cool."

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about... are you sure you're okay? You look uncomfortable?" He looked more than uncomfortable, truth be told. He looked as though he was ready for the ground to swallow him up, or to launch himself off the balcony.

"You don't like him, do you? This Peter Parker, you don't have a crush on him?" I choked a laugh, my cheeks flushing a deep crimson. This was not the way I imagined this conversation going. But if Tony was worrying about me liking a boy then there was sure to be something suspect about him.

"No! What? My god no Tony what the hell." He narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously, my outburst clearly not helping my case much.

"I mean, you sound pretty defensive there..."

"Tony, leave her alone." Pepper interjected, smacking my brother on the shoulder and sending me a sweet smile. "Els is a smart girl, you know as well as I do that she would never like a boy who wasn't more than good enough for her. So if she does like this boy..."

"Which I do not..." I added for clarification.

"...which she does not, then I am 100% certain that he is an amazing guy."

It was at that moment my phone began to vibrate on the sofa cushion beside me, the periodic buzzing alerting me to a phone call. I swiped a cushion out of the way, digging around under the blanket that seemed to have swallowed my phone before finally fishing it out. I outwardly and dramatically groaned as I noticed the name displayed across the screen.

"Oh my god leave me alone." I muttered to myself, muting the vibrations and dropping the phone back onto the blanket.

"I'm gonna hazard a guess and say that isn't Peter?" Pepper smirked with a quirk of her brow, earning a roll of my eyes in response.

"I wish." Tony's eyes narrowed at that, and I waved him off with a laugh before continuing, "That was Noah Allerton, my official stalker."

"Noah Allerton? As in son of John Allerton, owner of Allerton Scientific?" My expression remained blank as I blinked at him.

"Wow you said the name Allerton SO MANY times in that sentence that was amazing. Yes. That Noah Allerton.

"You just said it twice. Why is he calling you?"

"Because apparently he's obsessed with me and won't give it a rest until I agree to go on a date with him or marry him or something." I noted the way Pepper's thoughtful expression morphed into one of realisation as I spoke.

"What do you know Pepper? Tell me all." She righted herself in her chair, turning to face me while folding her legs underneath her and placing her hands on her knees.

"Okay so I actually had John Allerton come in for a meeting last week. He wanted to ask about the possibility of a merger, or some assistance in the form of a grant from Stark Industries. By the sound of it, the business isn't doing to well, it could go under within the year, they'd lose everything."

"Wow. Well then, no prizes for guessing why he's chasing after me so desperately."

"Ooh, gold digger. On the prowl at the ripe age of 16. What do you wanna bet that dear old daddy's the one pushing him towards you? Marry him off to a Stark, secure the big bucks." Tony's reply elicited an ungraceful and slightly disgusted snort from me as I placed a hand over my heart, fluttering my lashes dramatically.

"You know what I'm kinda flattered. Knowing that a man is after me for my money... makes me feel kinda powerful."

"Yeah well... that's why Pepper started chasing after me, look where she ended up." He wasn't going to get away with that one, and judging by the look of shock on Pepper's face a war was about to begin. Cushions quickly started flying and I found myself thankful for my quick reflexes as I narrowly avoided getting caught up in their vicious pillow fight. I watched on in amusement for a minute before holding my hands up in defeat.

"Okay well this is getting far too 'tween sleepover' for me, so I'm gonna bail before you two start making out." I grabbed my things, crossing the room and placing a kiss on each of their cheeks before heading to the door.

"Goodnight guys." I paused at the door and blew a kiss back at the both of them.

"Night squirt."

"Have sweet dreams of Peter Parker." Pepper's comment earned a laugh from me, and a frown from Tony. I shook my head, narrowing my eyes playfully at her before slipping out of the door. Truth be told, while I had zero to minus romantic interest in the boy, she probably wasn't far off the mark.

I changed for bed quickly, eager to wrap myself in the warm sheets and get the good nights sleep I so desperately craved. I'd gone through my usual routine, taking my makeup off, washing my face, moisturising, and everything else before flinging back the duvet and clambering into the warmth. I shuffled deeper into the bed until I was barely peeking out of the top, slipping my hand out and grabbing my phone. Never being one to take my time doing things, I opened up facebook and began typing a name into the search bar until I found the person I was looking for, heading to their profile and opening up messenger. I chewed my lip, pondering what to say and how to word it before I began typing out my message.

 _Hey Peter, it's Elizabeth Stark. Sorry for the super late message, I just wanted to ask if you're free at all tomorrow? I was snooping through Tony's things earlier today and found something pretty cool that I thought you might be interested in? Or not... I dunno. Either way just drop me a reply to let me know!_

I deleted and re-wrote the exclamation point a few times, worrying (stupidly) that it might come across as too enthusiastic. I shook my head, adding it back in and hitting send. No going back now. I dropped my phone onto the sheets beside me, breathing out a sigh and closing my eyes, letting my head sink into the pillows. I wasn't awarded a long stretch of undisturbed peace before my phone had buzzed again, the little '1 notification' sign hovering above the Facebook messenger app. I opened it up, the ghost of a smile on my lips as I read the response.

 _Hey Elizabeth! No worries on the late message I was still up anyway. That sounds awesome, I'm not doing anything tomorrow. What time do you want me to come round? Mr Stark won't get mad at us snooping through his things will he?_

I typed out my response quickly, his speedy response destroying any worries I would normally have about replying too fast.

 _Be here for 10? We can chill for a bit then go get lunch before the snooping starts. Tony won't get mad at me for going through his things, but I can't make any promises about you ;) see you tomorrow Peter._

Once again, his response was practically seconds after mine, and I laughed imagining him sitting there, phone in his hand and messenger app open, just waiting for the next reply to come through.

 _That doesn't fill me with hope. Goodnight Elizabeth :)_

Well, our first online conversation had gone as good as it could have. I tucked my phone under my pillow, rolling onto my side and letting my mind wander, excited to see what kind of secrets I could uncover tomorrow. I allowed these thoughts to carry me into a deep and dreamless sleep.

—

Thanks for reading, please remember to review because I LIVE for the comments I get on this writing.

Tell me what you like, tell me what you hate. How do you feel about the dynamic between Tony and Elizabeth? Between Elizabeth and Madelyn? The short interactions between Elizabeth and Peter? Do they work? Don't they? What can I do better? TELL MEEEEEEE 3

I have some great, wonderful, amazing news for you... the next chapter is going to be 100% Els and Peter, being cute, and nerdy, and loving life as 15 year old geniuses.

You are welcome.

-Amelie


	6. Peter Parker

I do not own Tony Stark or Peter Parker, or either of their stories in the Marvel Cinematic or Comic Universes. I do, however, own Elizabeth Stark and Madelyn Hogan and their stories.

A/N: The timelines in this story are not accurate to those in the Marvel cinematic or comic universes. The timeline in which Maria and Howard Stark pass is not accurate and is not meant to be.

—

Despite the confidence I'd had in my plans the night before, as I stood here now, shuffling on my feet in the spacious lounge, I found myself nervous for the day ahead. I'd recieved another facebook message from Peter disgustingly early that morning, checking that we were still on for today. In my half asleep state I'd managed to respond with a "yep" and a thumbs up emoji, unecessarily signing off the message as Eks instead of Els before drifting back into unconsciousness. My alarm had woken me only an hour later, forcing me to drag my tired limbs from the warm sheets and into the shower. After about 45 minutes of excessive pampering and preening mostly due to my inability to drag myself from the steaming water, I trudged into the kitchen in search of a coffee and a slice or two of toast. I said a quick goodbye to Tony as he slipped out of the front door, undoubtedly planning on going about his busy day in his own sweet time. Tony never tended to rush for other people, though no one appeared to mind waiting for him. Or at least, they didn't voice their complaints if they did mind. I admired him for his relaxed attitude, which was something I'd never quite mastered. I had to be on time, for everything. In fact, I was normally early. Thankfully, I didn't appear to be the only one who suffered from the inescapable need to arrive to things unfashionably early, as my breakfast was interrupted.

"Miss Stark, Mr Parker has arrived. Should I send him up?" I groaned, glancing down at my watch and noting that he was over 30 minutes early. Taking a bite of my toast, I shrugged. I could hardly leave him outside and I suppose there was no harm in a little extra hang-out time.

"Yeah sure, send him on up. Thanks F.R.I.D.A.Y."

She responded with a quick confirmation, and I turned my attention back to the plate in front of me, where a second slice of unhealthily over buttered toast sat, looking delicious and enticing. I took a gulp of my coffee just as the doors of the elevator slid open, revealing a slightly nervous looking Peter.

"You're early." I quirked a brow, glancing at him over my shoulder. A breath of a laugh escaped me as his eyes widened slightly. _Now now Els, don't scare the poor kid._

"Oh... um, yeah sorry I just woke up and I was hanging around and thought I might as well just head on over and-"

"Peter, relax. It's fine." My reassuring smile appeared to help easy his worry somewhat, the small upturn of his lips telling me that he had already relaxed somewhat.

"Breakfast?" I gestured to the breakfast bar where I was currently sat, inviting him to join me.

"Oh uh... I've already had breakfast, but I am still kinda hungry. That toast looks good." I hopped off my stool, digging through the bread bin and pulling out a bag.

"One slice or two?"

"Two please." I glanced over my shoulder as he settled onto the stool next to mine, folding his arms over one another and resting them on the bar.

"Coffee?"

"Oh, no thanks... you got any orange juice?" I breathed a laugh, popping the bread in the toaster and turning towards the fridge.

"We've got all the juice you could ever want..." I opened the door, reaching in and grabbing one of the many cartons that filled the shelves. "Pepper's got this orange juice obsession at the moment, so we are well stocked."

I quickly poured a glass, handing it to him with a smile just as his toast sprung up, indicating that it was done. I threw the two slices onto a plate, grabbing a knife and the butter before placing it all down before him.

"My speciality... enjoy." He laughed as I dropped onto the stool next to him, sipping at my coffee as I watched him generously butter his toast before taking a large bite with a hum of approval.

My attention was fixed, watching him closely over the Brim of my coffee cup with intense interest. I couldn't deny that he wasn't the worst looking guy ever. in fact, he was quite beautiful. It wasn't a particularly masculine descriptor, but it was perfect for him. His chestnut hair had a slightly shine to it, clean of any product that he might normally wear, meaning it hung slightly over his eyes as he leaned over his plate. Just as this thought crossed my mind, his hand came up, sweeping the stray hairs out of his face and into a slight quoiff. This action revealed eyes that I'd never quite noticed before, a rich hazel, lightly specked with green. I was staring, a fact a realised too late as he glanced up at me, meeting my eye as I attempted to cover my creepiness with a smile and a sip of my drink.

"Fanks" He mumbled through the mouthful of toast he was currently chewing, a grin stretching his lips as far as it could without all of his breakfast falling out.

"You're very welcome," We fell into a comfortable silence as he devoured his food and I sipped happily at my coffee, savouring the warmth my fingers received as they wrapped around the mug.

"So, what's the plan? What did you want to show me?" I peered at him over my mug, taking a small sip before placing it down.

"Oh, it's super cool and definitely something we should not be playing with, and I am so excited to play with it." Nervousness and excitement fought for dominance in his eyes, clearly both thrilled and terrified of whatever I had planned.

"Kinda worried about getting in trouble but also very excited. What is it?" The excitement was clear enough in his tone without needing to see the glint in his eye.

"Tony's out at meetings all day, he wont be home till like, 7pm maybe, so don't worry about getting into trouble. And honestly, I'm not sure what it is... but I'm planning on finding out." He grinned as he popped the last bite of toast in is mouth. "But before that, I wanted to ask your opinion on something I'm working on."

It made me smile; the way his eyes instantly lit up as I spoke, as though I had just told a child I was giving him unlimited access to a giant playground. His excitement quickly turned to a frown as his thoughts turned over in his head.

"Are you asking my opinion because you need my opinion... or just because I'm here?" I understood his curiosity, and honestly I didn't necessarily need his opinion. But for some reason I wanted it.

"I'm asking your opinion because I want it, and I've been thinking about asking you for help for a while..." His lips flickered into the beginnings of a smile, clearly attempting to suppressed his pride at being 'chosen' to help me. "You're clever Peter, and I might end up needing more than just your opinion. If you can, I might actually need your help with this."

"My help? Like, work on this project? Just the two of us? Together?" He was clearly stunned by the prospect and I couldn't help but laugh, hopping off my stool and gesturing for him to follow.

"Yes. I want you to work with me on this, just the two of us... together." I repeated his words exactly, mocking his excitement slightly. "Trust me, if it works it's going to be worth every second of your time. But, it's top secret. You can't breathe a word about it, even to Ned..." He jumped to his feet, a small shrug accompanying his grin.

"My time is all yours, and my lips are sealed. Don't worry, I'm great at keeping secrets." _Don't I know it._

"Perfect. Then let me show you what I've got so far."

It was odd. We'd been here before, in this situation. We'd been in this lab together more times than I could count but it had never been like this. It had never been just the two of us. I found myself feeling slightly nervous as I pressed my thumb onto the scanner that sat beside the door, a quiet beep sounding as the entrance to the lab opened. Peter followed close behind me, appearing just as nervous, despite the fact neither of us had any reason to be. I quietly directed him towards the table at the far end of the room, leaving him to take a seat as I gathered all my papers and plans from where I'd hurriedly stuffed them out of sight of Tony's curiosity. I noticed the way Peter quirked his brow as I approached, dropping the papers onto the table and making a start arranging them.

"Paper? Old school... why not use the projector system in the table?" I paused, biting my lip before quickly continuing with my organising of the papers.

"Because I don't want Tony to find out about this." Immediately his worry was clear on his face, and I quickly moved to explain. "It's nothing bad, in fact, it's something really good..."

"Then why hide it?" I sighed; it was simple, really. My hands paused over the documents as I turned my head to face him.

"Because I don't want him to find out and try to help me, because then it becomes his. I want this to be mine. If this works, I don't want it to be 'Tony Stark's invention that his little sister helped out with'." I could tell he understood, and he simply nodded in response, allowing me to get back to the organising, shoving the few most important papers his way. I dropped onto the seat next to him, allowing him a few minutes to scan over everything before I started to explain.

"Okay... so you're planning on working with the Stark satellites?" He sought to conform as his index finger rested atop the relevant information.

"Exactly, we have four satellites orbiting, currently here..." I pointed to two of the satellites current locations, before directing him to the the others, "and here."

"Right, and you want to use these satellites to...?"

"I've been trying to create software that will target pollution in rain clouds, which will then use the hardware that I'm working on to neutralise the polluting chemicals that are created from factories around the world." He nodded thoughtfully, sifting through the plans as he silently considered their prospects. When he didn't respond immediately, I continued.

"Basically, clean energy is what we want. Tony's done so much with the ARC reactor, but the scale is so small. I did some research and found out that S.H.I.E.L.D. had plans to make clean energy worldwide using the Tesseract. But then everything happened with Loki and well... we all know how that ended. It had so much potential but it was forgotten. And now the cost outweighs the return, and it's just not even a consideration for businesses in poorer countries. We'd be making them scrap their entire industrial layout for something they can't afford and can't sustain right now. This isn't a long-term solution but if we can minimise the damage for now, then we can give them the opportunity to expand their economies without having to completely start over, giving them a chance to work up to the 100% clean energy we're aiming for in a much more realistic way." I took a breath as my rant came to a close, scanning his expression for a response. His silence had started to worry me, leading me to think that perhaps my plan wasn't as feasible as possible.

"I'm gonna be honest, your silence is kinda making me anxious right now. If it's a crap idea, please just tell me."

"No, no! God no! Elizabeth, this is... incredible! I could feel the excitement welling up inside of me. This was exactly the reaction I'd been praying for, and it gave me at least a little hope that it was doable, that I wasn't dreaming too big. "This is literally the kind of think people win Nobel Peace Prizes for."

"So you think we can do it? I've been having issues with the software part of it, it's not really my forte. I'm better at the hardware. Do you think you can help?"

"Yeah!" He caught himself, reigning in his burst of excited energy which had only served to make me laugh. "Yeah, definitely. It's gonna take some work but it's absolutely doable."

I clapped my hands together, no longer trying to fight the grin that stretched from cheek to cheek. Before I'd realised what I was doing, the excitement had taken over and I'd leapt forward, wrapping my arms around a startled Peter in a tight hug. It took no more than a few seconds for realisation to dawn on me and send me flying back into my seat.

"Sorry... Um... That was weird." Thankfully, his startled expression had dissipated, leaving a wide smile in its place. "I'm just super excited about this".

"No, no. It's totally fine." Silence fell between us as we both took a moment to recover from the awkwardness I had created. Thankfully, Peter quickly moved the conversation on, saving us both.

"So... how about you show me this hardware, and we can start from there?" I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for his ability to turn a situation around in a matter of seconds.

"Yeah, that sounds great".

Unsurprisingly, the both of us had quickly been sucked into the work, losing track of time as we picked apart my idea before putting it back together, discarding the parts that wouldn't work and adding in what was needed. It had turned out to be a much easier and less stressful process than I had imagined it would be, feeling a lot less like work and a lot more like the fun project I had wanted.

"Miss Stark, Mr Parker. I feel as though I should inform you it is 1pm, and you haven't taken a break since breakfast." I glanced down at my watch for the first time that morning.

"Hm, so it is. Thanks F.R.I.D.A.Y." I sat back in my chair, turning to face Peter and pushing the mess of papers and plans away from me. "How about we go grab some lunch? There's a cool little café just round the corner?"

"Yeah, I could definitely eat, that sounds great."

"Perfect, but first, we gotta pack this all up and hide it away. I don't want anyone sneaking a peek while we're gone." I gathered a stack of papers in my arms, stuffing them into the folder beside me and clipping it shut before moving on to the random parts and tools that had ended up scattered around us as we pieced the hardware together. Peter closed his laptop, stretching his arms above his head with a groan, packing it away and hopping up from his seat.

The café was mostly empty, which I was thankful for as we took a seat on a small table near the back. Peter quickly grabbed the menu, busying himself scanning his options before settling on a burger and fried. Having visited this place on many an occasion, I had no need to browse the menu, having my order ready for when our waitress arrived.

"Oh hey Els, the usual?" I offered a grateful smile to the girl who I'd come to know quite well from my frequent visits.

"Yes please Annie." She gave me a quick thumbs up, noting down my order before glancing over at Peter and back to me. I narrowed my eyes as she quirked a brow, sending me a playful wink before continuing.

"And how about your... friend, over here? What can I get you...?" She trailed off the end of her sentence, looking back to me for confirmation of who she was talking to.

"Peter... this is Peter." She turned back in his direction and gave him a wide smile, clutching her notepad to her chest.

"Well hi Peter, it's so nice to meet you, my name is Annie." She paused, flourishing her hand in a gesture towards the name badge pinned to her shirt. "Els normally comes in here alone, it's nice to see that she's finally found a friend."

"Wow Annie, somehow you make me sound like such a massive loser."

"You are a massive loser," She shrugged with a smirk, turning back to Peter. "So, Peter, what can I get ya?"

"Uh, I'll just have a cheese burger and fries, and a soda. Thanks." I was thankful for the fact he didn't seem to have noticed Annie's complete lack of subtlety. That was until she threw any trace of self control out of the window.

"He's cute!" She, what I assumed was supposed to be whispered; though it was much louder than anyone might consider whispering. Her statement sent a flush of blood to my cheeks as I quickly shooed her away. Peter definitely had not missed that part, his bottom lip between his teeth as he fought back his laughter.

"She's nice." He suppressed a chuckle as I shook my head in despair.

"She's insane and has no filter..."

"What... you don't think I'm cute?" He batted his eyes at me innocently and I didn't even attempt to contain the laughter that left my lips. He winked, a cheeky grin accompanying the action, only serving to deepen the blush that already stained my cheeks.

"I think you're adorable, of course. I just think I'm _more_ adorable." He wagged a knowing finger at me, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"You got me there, Stark." He winked, a cheeky grin accompanying the action, only serving to deepen the blush that already stained my cheeks. We were interrupted as Annie returned, Peter's cheeseburger and my chicken and bacon burger in hand. She shot me another look as she placed our food down in front of us, offering a weirdly suggestive "enjoy your food" before slipping away with a grin.

We ate quietly for a few minutes, both focused on our food instead of each other. That was, until Peter put his burger down and looked up at me thoughtfully.

"Why did you message me?" I paused mid chew, caught slightly off guard before I finished my mouthful and responded.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you want my help with your project? Why not Liz? Or Ned or Michelle?" There was no reason for me to lie, or to make up an excuse, and even if there was, I didn't want to.

"Because, I thought you would be the best person to help me. They're all incredibly smart but you're clever Peter. You see things that other people don't. I know you're the best person to help me with this." He nodded in agreement, clearly seeing the logistics of my choice. But that wasn't it. That wasn't the only reason I'd asked him, and I was starting to feel bad about the truth. He was here so I could pick him apart. So I could manipulate answers out of him. As much as I wanted to know what was being hidden from me, I couldn't do that. There was no way I could look this boy in the eyes, those glorious hazel eyes, and use him for my own gain. There was a large part of me who, after the short time we'd spent together this morning, simply wanted to get to know him. He was nice, and he was kind, and he didn't care who I was. He had treated me like any other person, which was a rare thing for me to find.

"And... Because I like hanging out with you. I know we haven't much because we're always working in the lab and everyone else is always there so we don't talk a lot or..." I caught my rambling before I made myself look like too much of an idiot, taking a breath and offering a small smile. "Honestly I just wanted an excuse to hang out with you, and this was the perfect opportunity."

Understandably, he was silent as he digested my admission, and I found myself internally berating my stupid mouth for not knowing when to stop. Just as I thought I'd made a complete fool of myself and scared him away, he grinned.

"You know, if you wanted to hang out you just had to ask. You didn't have to invent an incredible, life changing, ecological miracle of a device, just to ask me on a date..." I rolled my eyes at the cheeky grin he'd plastered on his lips.

"One; this is not a date. More like... a business meeting. And two; I didn't come up with the idea _just_ to hang out with you, it just happened to be a helpful tool in finding an excuse to invite you over." He nodded in understanding, still unable to remove his smile.

"I dunno... breakfast AND lunch together? Seems like a date to me..." I rolled my eyes, throwing a fry at him with a frown. He narrowly avoided the potato projectile, looking rather offended before breathing a laugh. "Well, next time, just ask if I wanna hang out. I guarantee I'll say yes."

"Hm you think there will be a next time?"

"I hope so." His words were suddenly sincere and my breath hitched in my throat. I shifted my gaze downward prodding at my burger before matching his smile.

"Me too."

We spent the next few hours in the lab, our hunger sated from our lunch and a nearly invigorated interest and excitement for the project at hand, that I had now agreed to add Peter's name to, sharing the fame and glory that would come with our miraculous device, should it work. It had taken a little convincing but considering he was giving substantial input to the work and his name wasn't Tony Stark, I'd allowed it. Admittedly, the few hours we'd spent working had actually ended up divided between work, chatting, and getting distracted playing around with things around the lab. Once or twice I remembered why I had invited him here, wondering if perhaps I should steer the conversation in a more beneficial (to me) way. But every time I thought about it, I realised that I didn't want to. I quite happily allowed the pleasure of his company push my mission to the back of my mind, concentrating solely on the boy beside me. We'd finally settled down, getting on with our work slowly but surely when Peter suddenly stopped typing, spinning in his chair to face me.

"What?" I furrowed my brow in confusion at his thoughtful look.

"I just remembered... the whole reason you asked me to come here was because you said you had something cool to show me." Realisation hit me and my lips stretched into an excited grin.

"Oh my god I completely forgot!" I jumped up from my chair, hurrying across the room and rifling through drawers until I found what I was looking for. I grabbed the small metal device and ran back over to Peter, leaping into my chair like an excitable puppy.

"Our date was so amazing, you forgot why you even invited me here..." I ignored the wink, as well as the kiss he blew my way, keeping my attention on the device.

"Not a date, shut up. Okay... so I'm not one hundred perfect sure what this is, but I found some blueprints while I was going through Tony's files looking for..." I cut myself off, a moment of panic surging through me as I almost revealed my desperate search for answers on the Stark Internship.

"Looking for what?" _Think Elizabeth, Think!_

"Clues about what Tony's planning for my 16th birthday..." _Yeah sure, that works._

"Your birthday? Is that soon?" He perked up suddenly, looking at me as though this was a question he needed the answer to more desperately than anything else in the world.

"Yeah, March 18th." He nodded thoughtfully, grabbing his phone and tapping at the screen.

"Noted." I laughed, shaking my head.

"You don't need to make a note of that, Peter"

"It's your birthday... of course I do." A smile crept onto my lips and I cast my gaze down with the breath of a laugh. Of course he would make a note of my birthday, and I expected nothing less than a wonderful act of recognition from him on the day. He really was something else.

"Come on Parker, concentrate." He slipped his phone back in his pocket, holding his hands up in surrender before turning his attention back to the device.

"Okay, so what did the blueprints say?" He reached over and plucked the device from my hands, turning it over in his fingers as he analysed it.

"Well, from what I could work out, I think..." I reclaimed it, turning my hand over and pressing the small circular piece of metal against the inside of my wrist. Somehow, I wasn't sure how, it quickly bonded to my wrist, sitting comfortably against my skin as it held itself in place. We both fell silent as I clenched my fist, glancing up at Peter with a smile before quickly opening my hand. "It's a glove."

We both watched in awe as my hand was quickly covered by the red and gold metal indicative of Tony's original iron man suit, forming a glove around my fingers that somehow fit perfectly.

"Is that-"

"Nano-tech... yeah." Seeing the pure wonder on his face made me realise how much I needed this. Maddie was my best friend, and she was amazing and I loved her. But she was an artist and I was a scientist. I could never share these things with her and receive the reaction I was currently getting from Peter.

"Awesome." He reached out and grabbed my hand, feeling over the entirety of the glove as he inspected every last inch. "So... is it the same as the suit? Like, does it shoot?"

We shared a silent look of curiosity and excitement as we simultaneously jumped up from our chairs. I knew this was going to be a terrible idea but right now I felt like a kid. I hadn't had this much fun in a long time and being able to get this excited over science brought a new life to me that I had been sorely missing.

"Okay aim at... that table, that should be fine, right?" I nodded, raising my hand and aiming at the unsuspecting table. "How does it work, how do you control it?"

"So, the suit used to use a brain computer interface, but Tony decided he didn't like having to wear the headset, so he, god knows how, managed to put tiny electrodes throughout the suit which read electrical signals from certain points on your body. So, if I want to shoot, I just think it and-"

The lights flickered as the table flew back against the wall, a glass cabinet shattering as the metal bounced towards it at lightening speed. Instinctively we both ducked, using the counter we were standing behind as a shield. The metal table clattered as it settled on the ground, sparks shooting from some electrical device we had managed to unintentionally blow up. Perfectly in sync, we both peered up over the counter to assess the damage. The metal table smouldered slightly from a large hole which sat in the centre of it. Glass littered the floor as sparks continued to bounce over them from the unidentifiable machine that lay twisted and mangled beside the table. I pulled my lip between my teeth, not sure if I wanted to laugh or panic as I scanned the chaos. Thankfully, Peter made that decision for me, bursting into laughter as he squeezed his eyes shut, his hands holding his stomach as he struggled to breathe. I quickly followed suit, choking out laughter through tears as Peter scrambled towards me, grabbing the glove and helping to remove it. It quickly regressed back into the small circular device on my wrist, which I promptly removed and set aside in order to continue our fits of laughter.

"Oh my god Tony is going to kill me!" I wasn't really worried, I could talk my way out of anything, this wouldn't be difficult.

"In that case, I was never here... Also, remind me to warn Mr Stark to NEVER make you a suit." I finally managed to catch my breath, leaning back against the counter we occupied the floor behind, resting my head back and turning to regard my company.

"You don't have to call him Mr Stark, you know? Just because he's like... your boss, or whatever." He shrugged, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah I suppose... I guess I just want him to take me seriously, you know."

"I'm sure he does. I can tell he's impressed by you... you have nothing to worry about." He seemed sated by my words, relaxing slightly before pushing himself up to stand and offering me his hand. I gratefully took it, allowing him to pull me to my feet.

"So... what do we do about this?" He gestured to the incredible mess we had managed to make in the lab that was in use multiple times a week. It would have to be put back together fairly quickly.

"Oh don't worry about it, I'll get someone to clear it all up." I glanced down at my watch, noting the time and slipping my hand into Peters, a serious edge touching my words. "It's almost 7pm, so I have two options for you..."

"Okay, shoot."

"Option one... we say goodnight, you head home, and I'll see you next time we're in the lab." He scrunched up his nose at that, leaning his hip against the counter, his hand still in mine as his thumb began to absentmindedly trace patterns against my skin.

"Nah I'm not sold... what's option two?" I smiled, squeezing his fingers with my own.

"Option two is, we make a mess of the kitchen cooking dinner, then we find some blankets, take over the sofas and watch a crappy movie that we can ignore while you tell me everything I need to, and don't yet know, about you." He appeared to think over the options, looking thoughtful as he made me wait.

"You know what, I think I'm gonna go with option one." I raised a brow, the quirk of his lips betraying his lie.

"You would never pass up an opportunity to spend an evening watching movies and gossiping with Elizabeth Stark... just imagine the bragging rights it would give you." He pointed a finger at me with a grin.

"You're right! This is going to make me SO cool at school." I barked out a laugh, squeezing his hand as I turned and led him from the room.

"My god Peter Parker, you're such a loser."

The kitchen counter was barely visible under the mess we had left behind. We'd finally agreed on spaghetti bolognese, and had begun the arduous process of cooking for ourselves, something which we weren't experienced in not because of laziness, but due to the fact we were both 15 years old and had adults to do that for us. Chopping boards and remnants of ingredients littered the countertop, alongside splashes of sauce and various kitchen implements. We had every intention of tidying it up, but for now, we'd laid our full bellies down on the sofas and turned our attention to the large TV that filled the wall before us.

"Pete."

"Yeah?"

"Tell me about yourself... I wanna know you better." I rolled onto my side, meeting his eye from the opposite sofa, the coffee table creating a barrier between us. He pushed himself into a seated position, stretching his arms out before hopping off the sofa, leaping across the table and throwing himself ungracefully onto the cushions beside me. I huffed out a breath as he landed partly on top of me, laughing as I shoved him away. He shuffled around, making himself comfortable.

"Okay, what do you wanna know?"

"Um... everything. Tell me about your family?" I panicked slightly as I asked that question, realising too late that it was a HORRIBLE place to start. Fortunately, he didn't seem to mind and quickly began talking.

"Well, my parents passed when I was only little, so I ended up living with my Aunt May and Uncle Ben... until a few years ago when my uncle was killed..." He paused for a moment, taking a small breath before continuing. "So It's just me and May now... never had any siblings so it's just the two of us." Wanting to diffuse the sadness that I had unwittingly surfaced, I encouraged lighter conversation.

"I'm sorry about your parents. No child deserves to grow up without their family." Well done Els, good job ending up in this conversation. Idiot.

"You did." Of course, everyone knew about my parents and their untimely death, but not everyone knew the truth. That wasn't a story I was about to share, so I simply shrugged.

"I had Tony."

"And I have May." He quipped back without hesitation, his smile remaining on his face despite the depressing tone things had taken. "And now I have you...?" He asked his question tentatively, testing to see what my response would be.

"As long as I also have you." He seemed happy with my answer, nodding fervently and nudging his shoulder gently against mine.

"Whenever you might need me." He was sweet. So incredibly sweet.

"Tell me about your Aunt May, what's she like?" His smile, along with his overall change of demeanour told me that this was a subject he was happy to broach.

"She's great, she's just really cool you know. Like she's super laid back about everything but at the same time she's done such a great job of raising me practically on her own." It was nice, the way he talked about her. His eyes lit up slightly and his aura was light and happy, and I found myself hoping that someday I might meet this Aunt May for myself.

"I'll say. You've turned out alright." I gave him a nonchalant shrug, nudging his shoulder with mine as I offered a playful smirk.

"Oh, thanks." He grinned, grabbing a cushion and whacking me on the shoulder before settling back in his seat. ""It's nice... talking to someone who understands. It's a bit morbid, i know, but there aren't many who understand what it feels like to lose both parents at once... But what about you, lets talk about you instead."

"You can talk to me about anything... I'm a great listener. And I mean... there's nothing I can tell you about me that you can't read on the internet..." I shrugged, shifting so that my legs lay over his before grabbing the blanket off the back of the sofa and draping it over us.

"I don't believe that for a second. What about you and Tony? What's it like having a brother like the great Tony Stark? I can't read about that on the internet." I suppose he was right, but that didn't mean I was any more comfortable talking about myself. It had never been something I enjoyed.

"It's great, mostly. I mean... he can be difficult as you can probably imagine, but he's amazing. He's overprotective and crazy but he would literally do anything for me... and I would for him." I paused to glance at the boy sat beside me, who was watching me with an intense interest. "I wouldn't trade him for the world, even though he is a pompous asshole."

"You two are close then?" He laughed quietly before brushing over my last comment, instead choosing to continue with his questions.

"We're all each other has... we've always had to be close." He nodded thoughtfully.

"Well I suppose recently that hasn't been so much of an issue... you've got like, an entire family of superheroes at your beck and call." He wasn't wrong and I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

"Yeah I suppose you're right... but it's not always all it's cracked up to be..."

"Why's that?" I sighed, lounging back against the cushions and tugging the blanket up over my chest.

"Because, to them I'm a kid. I'm smart and they don't underestimate me because I'm more than capable, but I'm still a kid. They still need to watch me and protect me and hold me back because to them I'm this precious, breakable little thing that they need to keep safe at all costs. It's suffocating... Sometimes I wish I was a super soldier, or an assassin, or something just so I don't always have to be the one left behind."

"Being safe isn't a bad thing Els." I wasn't sure exactly when he'd stopped calling me Elizabeth and started using Els, but I liked it. Of course he wasn't wrong, I knew that. I didn't want to be out risking my life without the means to defend myself, I just didn't want to be locked away like a delicate flower who was incapable of looking after herself.

"But I don't wanna be safe all the time... I want to take risks, I want to have adventures and feel excited and scared and amazed. I want that freedom too." I breathed a laugh, shaking my head. "I guess that sounds crazy and ungrateful bu-"

"No," I was interrupted as Peter shook his head at me, "it's not crazy and it's not ungrateful. I know exactly how you feel. I used to be safe and protected and sheltered and since I... started taking more chances and risks, I've been happier. I feel free."

"What changed?" I found myself mentally urging him to spill, to tell me what had changed in his life.

"I suppose I just got braver, started doing things I wouldn't have done before. It's scary but it's fun." I smiled at the way his eyes lit up as he spoke. He might not tell me what it was that made him so happy but he certainly wasn't hiding the fact it did.

"Perhaps sometime you can show me, how to take risks... how to have fun." He seemed to hesitate for a moment before sending me a smile.

"Yeah maybe I could..." He bowed his head with a smile, but I didn't miss the light blush across his cheeks. "By the way, I think it's great."

"What's great?"

"What you're doing, with the satellites. And I think it's a good idea to keep your brother out of it." At least Peter agreed with me on that. I'm sure it would be a comfort to know he was backing me up when Tony inevitably found out.

"You do?"

"Yeah, you know... before I met you, before I found out how smart and talented and driven you are... you were just Tony Stark's sister." I nodded with a tight smile. Didn't I know it. Before I had a chance to leap down that rabbit hole, he continued."That was all I'd read or heard about you, you know. But it's all wrong. And now I know that, it actually kinda pisses me off."

I breathed a laugh, raising a brow at how clearly irritated by the subject he had suddenly become.

"You're not 'Tony Stark's little sister', you're so much more than that and if I'm being totally honest... I love working with your brother on the internship but I'm so much more excited to work with you." I didn't fight the smile that tugged at my lips, more than appreciative of what he had just admitted.

"You are? I dunno if I believe that, I'm sure the internship is pretty cool." Not that I would have a clue...

"You're cooler." He didn't hesitate in his response, speaking almost immediately after I had.

I didn't get a chance to reply as the living room door swung open, revealing a very tired looking Tony. He met my eye as he paused in the doorway, scanning the situation as he glanced between Peter and I.

"What's goin' on here?" To the untrained ear, he seemed calm and casual, however, if you'd known him your entire life as I had, the ever so slight rigidity to his tone, paired with the way he clenched his jaw betrayed him. There was definitely something about me and Peter being here together that he didn't like. I suppose, come to think of it, I'd never had a boy over. I'd never shown interest in any boys for that matter, something which I'm sure Tony would agree was a positive. In that respect, I could understand a bit of discomfort or awkwardness, but not this. He was angry. I could read my brother like a book and this wasn't his protective sibling act, this was something else. As well as that, the way Peter had frozen like a deer in the headlights told me that there was nothing average about this situation.

"We're just hanging out, watching some TV... we've been in the lab working all day." Tony didn't reply immediately, making his way into the room in a far too casual manner before coming to stop behind the opposite sofa to the one on which we currently lounged. I was suddenly very aware of the way we were draped over one another far too comfortably for two people who hadn't known each other long. "Everything alright?"

Obviously everything was not alright. Peter had all but frozen next to me, not uttering so much as a word since my brothers arrival, and Tony had him locked under a steely gaze that would terrify even the bravest of souls.

"Yep, all good. Hey Els do you think you could run to your room and grab that file you borrowed the other day?" I furrowed my brow in confusion. If it was the one I was thinking of, I'd borrowed that file almost a month ago and he hadn't been interested in asking for it back, so why would he want it now? Luckily, I wasn't an idiot and quickly worked out, by the way he was focused so intently on Peter, that he was trying to get rid of me. I took a breath to suppress my irritation, hopping up from the sofa with my very best faux smile.

"Yeah sure," I was sure the grin on my face was noticeably fake, but if Tony had picked up on that he didn't mention it. "Be right back."

I crossed the room in a few quick strides, slipping out of the door into the hallway, where I immediately stopped in my tracks and turned back. I left the door open a crack, not enough to see what was going on or to be spotted, but enough to hear. I pressed myself against the wall to keep out of sight, ensuring I remained as silent as possible as I leaned towards the cracked door.

"What the hell are you doing here kid?" He mostly sounded irritated, but I didn't miss the trace of anger that lingered behind my brother's words.

"Nothing, we were just hanging out... we've spent the day working on some Ivy Foundation stuff in the lab." Understandably, Peter sounded nervous. He managed to keep his tone even but there was no mistaking the undertones of panic. Despite this, I was impressed by the way he managed to keep the satellite project under wraps. I found myself getting angry at my brother. He knew as well as anyone how much Peter looked up to him, and no one wanted to face this kind of interaction with their idol.

"Look, I didn't say anything when you were just working together with the group, because you kids are doing some good stuff in that lab. But this... this isn't what we agreed." Agreed? I hadn't realised that my life was subject to my big brother's terms and conditions.

"Sorry Mr Stark... but I don't actually remember making any agreement..." I bit my lip to suppress the smile that fought for place on my lips. Yes Peter, you tell my stupid brother.

"Don't get smart with me kid. I don't want the two of you hanging out." Peter was quick to respond, thankfully not falling prey to Tony's authoritative tone.

"That's going to be a bit difficult. Our working together isn't going to be very productive if we're not allowed to see each other..."

"Less of the attitude, please. I'm not asking you to stop working together, I'm telling you that this..." I assumed he was referring to our little TV/Movie night, "...has to stop." There was no response from Peter for a few moments, as I assumed he worked on how best to reply. When he finally did reply, I was quietly stunned, impressed by the way his voice remained certain and even.

"I can't do that. I'm sorry." I could almost picture the look of disbelief on Tony's face at Pete's refusal to do what he was told. Normally I was the only one refusing to listen to Tony, and I had to admit, I was impressed that Peter had the balls to do so.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm not going to stop hanging out with her, I'm sorry Mr Stark. Elizabeth is smart and amazing and we get on really well, I want to be her friend... and I'm sorry but I don't think you can stop that from happening." While I praised Peter for his courage, I found myself on edge as I waited for Tony to reply. To my surprise, his tone softened somewhat as he spoke.

"You don't think I know how smart and amazing my little sister is? That girl is incredible, and she is going to do amazing things with her life. Which is why I want to keep her alive long enough for her to do that." I frowned, not quite picking up what he was putting down there, but from Peter's sigh, he understood exactly.

"Every time I put that suit on, I put her life in danger. Do you know how many times she's nearly ended up hurt because of me? Having Iron Man as a big brother is enough, I don't need you dragging her into your messes too." What the hell was he talking about, what kind of danger could Peter Parker get me into? If any one of us was going to get the other hurt, I think my blowing up the lab earlier made it clear that it was going to be me.

"She's not going to find out, and she's not going to get involved. I swear to you that I will _never_ tell her, and if it ever comes to it, which it will not, I will protect her with my life. I swear that you can trust me on that. But I'm not going to stop being her friend, and I'm not going to apologise for that."

Silence fell between the two of them, and despite not even being in the room, I could feel the tension as though I was standing in the space between them. While I was incredibly flattered and appreciative of how much Peter was willing to fight to become my friend, I hadn't missed the fact that he had just admitted to openly lying to my face and hiding something from me. Something that, by the sounds of it, could land me in danger. Aside from making me incredible angry and uncomfortable, their conversation had made me ever more determined to discover what they were keeping secret, and from here on out, I wasn't going to stop until I'd found out. I took a breath, swinging the door open and striding back into the room, trying, and I'm sure failing, to hide the anger that bubbled inside of me.

"Els! You're back." Panic was evident in Peter's eyes as he greeted me on my entrance.

"I am." I smiled sweetly, glancing between him and my brother, sending Tony a look that caused even him to cower slightly.

"Where's the file?" I faltered as he asked for the item I was supposed to have gone to get.

"Couldn't find it... I'll have a rummage around tomorrow and see if I can uncover where it's hiding." Yeah, sure, that would do. He obviously wasn't buying it, but I wasn't about to give him a chance to question me.

"Come on Pete, I've got a projector set up in my room and it's perfect for a movie night." I slipped my hand into his with a grin, fully aware of the fact Tony was most likely seething behind me, but choosing to ignore it. I led Peter toward the hallway door, swinging it open and ushering him through. "Third door on the right, I'm gonna make us some popcorn and I'll be there in a minute."

I turned back towards my brother, my smile instantly dropping as I met his eye.

"Elizabeth..." He spoke with a tone of warning, but I wasn't about to let him finish whatever lecture he was planning on wasting my time with.

"Come on big brother, you should know by now that you can't hide anything from me..." I didn't miss the flash of worry in his eyes at my words. "I'm going to find out what secret you two are keeping, I promise." I paused, readying myself to leave before I stopped and turned back, a small scoff accompanying my disbelief. "Also, you're my big brother, and I love you... but it's actually insulting that you think you can tell me who I can and cannot be friends with. So don't even try." I swept past him heading for the kitchen, but was quickly halted as he grabbed my arm.

"Everything I do, I do to protect you." His voice was low and pleading and I swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling a pang of guilt at the desperation in his voice. I sucked in a breath, releasing it slowly with a small shake of my head.

"I know that Tony... but you can't protect me forever."

"I can try." I nodded silently, slipping from his grasp and disappearing from the room.

After Peter had got over the initial awkwardness of being in my bedroom, we'd arranged my blankets and pillows into what resembled a giant nest and had sunk into it together quite happily. After at least half an hour of scrolling aimlessly through Netflix, we'd settled on Batman and despite it - apparently - being one of Peter's favourite films, he had begun to doze off just as quickly as I had.

A part of me was very much aware of the fact that at some point, in our half asleep daze, we had ended up squished next to each other, my head on his shoulder and his arm draped around me. While it should have been awkward, or at least a little bit weird, it wasn't. It was comfortable and it felt normal. Peter seemed to have this uncanny ability to make anyone feel comfortable in any situation, instantly becoming a person you felt as though you'd known your entire life. Or perhaps it was just with me he had that. I liked to think that it was just me.

"Crap," His voice was hoarse as he rubbed his eyes with a groan. I tilted my head up to meet his eye, stifling a yawn as I waited for an explanation. "It's almost 11... I really should get home. May's gonna start worrying if I don't get back soon." I hummed in agreement, pushing against his shoulder to sit up, stretching my arms above my head with a groan.

"Well, I'm not letting you get the subway home on your own this late. I'll call Happy and get him to drive you." I could tell he was ready to argue against my offer, so I continued before he could. "No arguments... I'm calling you a car."

He backed down with a smile and a nod, gathering up his things as I gave Happy a quick and pleading call. Thankfully, he was more than happy to drive Peter home, which meant I didn't need to worry about him getting mugged on the streets of Queens in the middle of the night. No more than five minutes later, the quiet buzz of my phone alerted me that his ride was here.

"Happy's outside," I reached out and grabbed his coat where it hung on the back of my desk chair, throwing it towards him. Despite facing the opposite direction, he reached behind him and caught it with ease. Super reflexes, much? "Come on, I'll walk you out".

"Why thank you Elizabeth, you're quite the gentleman." I bowed dramatically, running ahead to hold the door open and waving him through, receiving a loud laugh in response. We didn't need to fill the comfortable silence as we rode the elevator down to the ground floor, making our way to the front of the building silently before approaching the dark car that waited at the curb. I leaned down as the window slid open, revealing the familiar smile of Happy Hogan.

"Hey Els."

"Hey Happy." I replied in like, as Peter came to stand beside me, offering the man a quick wave.

"Hey I didn't know you two knew each other," Happy glanced between us suspiciously, looking slightly hesitant as he continued to speak. "Tony's finally letting you get involved in the 'internship', Els?"

Peter coughed beside me, shooting Happy what I could only describe as a 'shut the hell up' look.

"Oh no, we've just been working on some stuff for the Ivy Foundation... you know." I ignored Peter's response, merely offering an innocent smile and a tilt of my head.

"Nope, don't know a thing about the 'internship', that seems to be some big secret that I'm not yet in on..." I shrugged, moving to open the door for the boy, not missing the look they shared and the general aura of discomfort. One positive had come from this however. It seemed as though I'd just been offered a new avenue of investigation. If there was anyone who I could trick into spilling the beans about the internship it was Happy. And if that failed, I had a super detective best friend who had a talent of getting whatever she wanted, especially from her own father.

Peter climbed through the door that I was holding open, dropping into the black leather seats of the car and looking up at me with a smile.

"Well... today was really cool and I'm super excited to keep working on that project. Hopefully I'll see you again soon?" I leaned against the door, my lips curling into a kind smile.

"Hopefully. Goodnight Peter Parker." He returned my smile, his attention locked on me just as mine was on him.

"Goodnight Elizabeth Stark." I swung the door closed, remaining on the curb as I watched the car drive away. I pulled out my phone, glancing back up at the car just as it turned a corner, out of sight. I quickly opened my messages, finding who I was looking for before typing out my message.

 _Evening Madelyn... I have an intelligence mission for you..._

 _—_

Finally, we have a good healthy amount of Peter/Els action. Aren't they the cutest. You know when you meet someone, and you just fall together perfectly, as though you've known them your entire life? That's the vibe Els and Peter have, possibly because they have such similar personalities, humour, and interests.

As always, PLEAAAASSSEEE review I will post chocolate chip cookies to all reviewers (I wont).

\- Amelie


	7. Spider-man

I do not own Tony Stark or Peter Parker, or either of their stories in the Marvel Cinematic or Comic Universes. I do, however, own Elizabeth Stark and Madelyn Hogan and their stories.

A/N: The timelines in this story are not accurate to those in the Marvel cinematic or comic universes. The timeline in which Maria and Howard Stark pass is not accurate and is not meant to be.

—

"Oh my god I completely forgot! How'd the date go?" I frowned, glancing over at the girl who occupied the adjacent sofa to mine, both of us currently donned in pyjamas and slipper boots with a vast array of food spread out on the coffee table between us.

"What date?" I grabbed a handful of popcorn, tipping my head back and pouring it into my mouth in my most un-ladylike fashion. She rolled her eyes, grabbing her own handful of popcorn but choosing to throw it at me instead of into her mouth.

"You and Peter obviously. Dumbass." I narrowed my eyes, giving her a questioning look as she waited expectantly for my response.

"It wasn't a date..." I wasn't lying. It hadn't been a date. At least, that had never been the intention. I thought back to Peter's joke about how it had obviously been a date, but he was joking... right? "We literally spent most of the day working in the lab, I'd hardly call that a date."

"I dunno, it seems like the kind of date you two nerds would die for... and what about the rest of the day, when you weren't in the lab. What were you doing then?" I averted my gaze, knowing full well that the answer was only going to give her the ammunition she so desperately craved.

"We ate lunch... and we ate dinner... we watched some TV." My recount of the day was vague, and I knew as soon as I'd said it that it wouldn't be enough to sate her.

"Nope. I need a play-by-play of the entire day. Start from when he arrived. Go." There would be no way of getting out of this, better to bite the bullet and get it over with.

"Fine. He got here like half an hour early, so I made him breakfast." Already, she had begun to smirk. "I made him some toast, and then we went down to the lab. We worked on some stuff for a few hours then we went and got lunch."

"You went out for lunch, or had lunch here...?" She interrupted my storytelling to ask her question, something which I image would continue intermittently throughout.

"We went out, to Crust, the cafe round the corner."

"Ooh so, cafe lunch date. That's strike one Miss Stark... continue." It would only get worse from here.

"After that we went back to the lab, carried on working for a couple of hours, chatted a bit about random crap, found one of Tony's nanotech gloves and blew up a table, then-"

"Wait what? You blew up a table?" I nodded with a laugh, recalling the hilarity of the event.

"Yeah it was hilarious, a bitch to clean up though. Anyway as I was saying... it was about 7pm by this point and we were both hungry, so we cooked spaghetti bolognese-"

"Cooking together, another insanely couple-on-a-date activity. Next."

"We ate and then we watched TV and just talked... got to know each other a bit."

"Did you find out any dirt? Any secrets?" I shook my head, a smile forming on my lips as I moved into a seated position, folding my legs under me and looking at Maddie with excitement.

"I didn't while talking to Peter, but there was drama." This piqued her interest and she leapt up to sit, knocking her popcorn onto the floor in the process. She spared a despairing glance at the overturned bowl before waving it away and turning back to me, aka, the much more pressing matter right now.

"Tell me now."

"So Tony comes in and is all 'what the hell's going on here', so we're like 'ummm we're just hanging out...'" I put on my best, highly exaggerated, impression of Tony's voice as I recalled the situation. "Then he asks me to go get some stupid file but obviously it's just a way to get rid of me, so I wait outside the door and listen in-"

"That's my girl."

"So basically Tony says that me and Peter hanging out like this wasn't part of their agreement, so Peter points out that they never agreed anything." I don't think I had ever seen Madelyn pay such intense attention to anything in her life, and I worried for half a second that she might have actually stopped breathing while she listened. "So Tony just outright tells him he isn't allowed to hang out with me outside of work and Peter, who I think miraculously grew balls in that second, was literally like 'no' and just refused. Then he started saying all this stuff about how amazing I am and how he wants to spend time with me an-"

"And you're saying this wasn't a date? You might wanna confirm that with him because he sounds smitten..."

"Not important. What is important is that Tony started talking about protecting me and keeping me alive, and how I'm in enough danger with him as my brother, and I don't need Peter putting me in danger too" Clearly she shared in my confusion as she furrowed her brow.

"What on earth kind of danger is he expecting the boy to get you into? Apart from maybe a papercut from all the love letters he's going to write you." I ignored her last sentence focusing on the important part.

"Exactly, what threat does Peter Parker pose?" I took a breath, raising a brow as I recounted the next part. "That was when Peter started talking about how I'd never find out, and he'd never tell me, and if I did find out he would protect me with his life or some crap. What the hell is he hiding from me? Why is everyone hiding things from me?!"

"Because you're America's golden child and you must be protected at all costs?"

"I'm being serious Mads... this is insanely frustrating." I flopped back onto the sofa with a groan, becoming more and more irked by the situation with every passing day.

"Tell me about it, I have to listen to you complaining constantly... Have you spoken to Tony at all since?"

"Nope, he's been busy working, though I'm pretty sure he's just avoiding me so he doesn't have to answer any questions."

"Smart guy..." I glared at her, turning my attention away from her and to the TV. It was frustrating enough having everyone keep things from me. I didn't need Maddie making joked about it too.

"Okay fine Elizabeth, have a tantrum over there. But while you're doing that I'm going to try and think of how I can get info out of my dad." She picked up her phone, tapping at the screen as she chewed her lip in thought. "I could check through his emails but I don't have his login. He's super old school and keeps it all in a notebook though, so once I've found that I'll have a dig."

"That could be super helpful, thanks Mads."

"I got your back... plus I love snooping in my dad's business it's my favourite pass-time." As much as I hated to admit it, there wasn't a bad situation that Madelyn Hogan couldn't make good. I'd never let her know that, of course... it would go straight to her head. But I honestly wasn't sure what I'd do without her. We fell into a comfortable silence as she flicked through her phone and I let myself fall into my thoughts.

I found myself wondering if it was really worth it. All of this sneaking around and hunting for secrets. A - very small - part of me knew that they must have a good reason for keeping me in the dark, and perhaps I should just take a step back and think about how finding out the truth could affect me. That's what I would do if I was anyone else... but I was Elizabeth Stark and I had the desperate and impossible-to-ignore urge to know what was going on around me at all times. I didn't like secrets and I didn't like lies. My entire childhood had been sculpted from false words and hidden acts, and while it had brought me here and made me who I am today... it could have very easily gone in a drastically different direction.

"You're looking especially somber considering this looks like it's supposed to be a girly movie night...?" We simultaneously turned to the door where Pepper stood, clad in her usual heels and power suit. I'd never said the words out loud but god knows I aspired more than anything to be like that woman someday. If I ended up even nearly as powerful and confident as Pepper Potts I would consider my life a success.

"Elizabeth was complaining because I called her day with Peter yesterday a date." I launched a piece of popcorn at her, smirking with satisfaction as it bounced off the back of her head.

"It was NOT a date." Even Pepper looked sceptical at this point, quirking a brow in a way that said 'you're not fooling anyone'.

"You keep telling yourself that lie Els, perhaps one day it'll be true." I ignored her, grabbing the remote and flicking through the channels, eager to avoid this conversation in any way possible. Pepper had just kicked her shoes off, dropping onto the sofa next to me and claiming a handful of popcorn when I paused in my channel surfing.

"Ew, the news, what the hell Els." Maddie's complaints fell on deaf ears as I focused my attention on the TV, repeatedly pressing the volume increase button so that I could hear what the news reporter was saying.

" _The vigilante known as 'Spider-man' has done it again, this time thwarting the attempts of a group well known to the NYPD for their involvement in a number of car thefts around the Queens area."_

"Yeah yeah, we get it, Spider-man is great and he's doing cool things, again. No one cares." I frowned, shushing my friend and waving away her comments as I continued to listen to the story unfold.

" _At around 6pm this evening, three members of the gang were found outside Queens Place parking garage, hanging from the edge of the building in webs, left with a sign for police to find them after receiving an anonymous tip over the phone."_

"You have to admit Mads, that's kinda cool. The guy seems like he's got a sense of humour. He literally hung them off the side of the building under a sign made of webs saying 'bad guys here' with an arrow pointing to them. That's hilarious." She shrugged, finally cracking a smile as an image of the scene was displayed on the TV.

"That is actually pretty funny." Pepper chimed in, laughing along with me at the image.

"Yeah yeah okay, he's kinda funny. I still think he's a massive nerd though." I frowned, giving her a confused look.

"Don't look at me like that. Come on... he wears freakin' spandex. No one cool wears spandex." I had to agree with her on that one. Perhaps it wasn't the coolest outfit choice - daring, but not cool - but whoever he was, he was doing great things for this city, I couldn't fault him for that.

"Okay the spandex is weird... but he's pretty awesome. I mean, think of all the good things he's done for the city? Even the little things. He helps everyone no matter what, rather than being in it for the fame. I heard he literally helped an old lady cross the street once. Do not tell me that isn't the purest and most adorable thing you've ever heard." She simply turned up her nose at me.

"Don't tell me you have a crush on him too? Careful, you're gonna make Peter jealous." I dropped my head back in exasperation.

"My god will you just drop the Peter thing?! Please!"

"One doth protest to much." She muttered, turning back to her phone with a roll of her eyes.

"I don't have a crush on Spider-man I just think he's cool, okay." I didn't miss the way Pepper was currently biting her lip to contain a smile, a mix of amusement and concern colouring her features, as well as something I couldn't quite place. Either way, I chose to ignore it for now, focusing on arguing against Madelyn, the more important matter right now.

"Sure thing Miss Denial." There was no use arguing against Maddie, she would always win and she would always get the last word. I'd learnt many years ago to just give up. Pepper gave me a sympathetic look, knowing exactly how frustrating Maddie could be and patting me on the shoulder, any trace of whatever she was thinking earlier long gone from her face. I turned back to the TV, continuing through the channels in search of something worth watching, sinking back into the sofa cushions and falling into silence.

I sucked in a deep breath, tilting my neck to the left, then the right, linking my fingers and stretching my arms above me with a quiet groan. This morning was going to be long, but I knew it was going to be fun none-the-less. I glanced at the clock on the wall that currently read 11:45, notifying me that, as usual, Maddie was late. I crossed the dance studio towards my bag, digging out my phone and tapping at the screen. A series of texts relayed to me Maddie's dramatic journey here, alerting me to why she was running late. I typed out a response, my finger hovering over the send button as the studio doors swung open and a surprisingly relaxed Maddie strolled in, sipping at an iced coffee as she threw up a peace sign in greeting.

"Oh hi, it's so nice to see you, Mads." She rolled her eyes, holding up the cup holder to reveal a second drink.

"I got you one." It was as if she had known how exhausted I currently was, and how in need of an iced coffee I had been since the moment I woke up.

"Fine... you're forgiven." I plucked the drink from her, taking a long sip and savouring the taste. "We gotta start getting ready though, people are gonna be arriving any minute."

She nodded silently, dropping her bag down and unzipping it, pulling out her foot thongs and slipping off her jacket. I busied myself setting up the stereo, plugging in my phone and searching for the playlist I had created especially for this class. I was excited, to say the least. This was the first contemporary class run by the Ivy Foundation and taught by myself and Maddie. We'd both worked painstakingly on a lesson plan, figuring out everything from the warm-up to the cool-down and all things in between. Now I just prayed that someone would turn up. We'd had about 25 sign ups for this class, which meant it was full, but there was always a chance some might not turn up. I abandoned my phone, realeasing one last yawn before shaking away my exhaustion and putting on my best front. 12pm. Time to go see if anyone had showed.

I crossed the room towards the door, swinging it open and stepping out into the hallway. I could hear quiet chatter coming from the reception area of the building, giving me hope that at least someone had come along. Thankfully, I was pleased to be greeted by a large group of eager faces as I entered the reception. Thank god.

"Hey everyone... come on through." I gestured down the hallway, instructing them on where to go, holding the door open for them to pass.

"Hey Elizabeth!" I turned back towards the door, meeting the smiling face of none other than my namesake, Liz Allen.

"Oh, hey Liz! I didn't realise you'd signed up." She nodded excitedly. Of course, she looked insanely good in sportswear too. I just couldn't win. I was slightly more surprised to glance behind her and see Michelle.

"Michelle... I gotta say I did not expect this to be your thing." She shrugged, her usual blasé expression on her features.

"I thought it would be fun to watch people flail around a room for an hour."

"Well okay then..." Fair enough. I nodded, directing her through along with everyone else before following behind.

It didn't take long for the group to filter into the room, where Maddie had already taken it upon herself to start the introductions. I quickly reclaimed my coffee, taking another long sip before setting it down on on the small table that held the stereo.

"Okay, hey everyone!" I directed a wide smile to the group, receiving the same in return. "Welcome and thank you for coming along to our first ever Contemporary dance class. If you don't know who we are, I'm Elizabeth Stark and this is Madelyn Hogan and we will be your teachers... muses... idols... for the duration of this class."

My words received a chorus of giggles, thank goodness because it was the lamest thing I'd ever said. Thankfully, everyone here looked eager and excited to learn, which would make our jobs exponentially less difficult.

"So to start with today, we're just gonna go over a few of the basics, some simple steps and moves to get you used to this dance style and give you a taste of what it's all about. Then me and Mads are gonna show you the routine we're going to be learning over the next few classes." I took one more sip of my coffee before grabbing my phone from its spot on the table. "But before we even think about doing any of that, we need to warm up. So if you all just spread out, find a space and we'll get started."

I pressed play on my phone, raising my voice so as I could be heard over the music as I instructed everyone to follow along with me.

"Okay guys that was so good you're all doing great, go grab a drink and have a five minute break." They quickly dispersed, grabbing their water bottles and falling into quiet chatter. I, once again, reclaimed my coffee, finishing off the slightly watery few gulps that were left before taking a swig from my water bottle.

"This seems to be going well..." Maddie appeared at my side, holding out a small bag of blueberries to me in offering. I gladly grabbed a few, popping one in my mouth with a cheerful nod. It wasn't as though I'd expected it to go badly, I just hadn't really known what to expect from this, and so had been pleasantly surprised when everyone had got stuck in right from the start, appearing to enjoy themselves.

"It really is, isn't it? God, I am so glad, I was so stressed about it this morning." Clearly Maddie had felt the same as she agreed wholeheartedly, both of us thankful that nothing had gone wrong. Yet.

"Hey Elizabeth!" I spun on my heel, surprised by the sudden greeting. Liz Allen Stood behind me, a beaming smile on her lips, as usual. I returned her smile, receiving a raised brow from Maddie as she turned and walked away, leaving us alone.

"So... How are you finding the class? Enjoying yourself?" She nodded excitedly, twisting a strand of hair between her fingers before tucking it behind her ear.

"Yeah! Yeah it's so fun. I mean... I'm not the best dancer but it's fun to try, right?" She wasn't wrong. I'd noticed her struggling, forgetting the steps and unable to keep up. Not that it mattered, this was a class for fun we weren't expecting professional dancers.

"No one's expecting you to get it all right. You've never danced before?" I gestured for her to follow as I dropped to the floor, leaning back against the mirror and crossing my legs.

"Well, I did ballet when I was like three, but that was just a lot of tutus, twirling and falling over." She took a seat beside me, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"Well then, don't stress about it. If you need extra help, I can help you." I received a warm smile for my offer, before we fell into a slightly awkward silence. I wasn't really sure what to talk to her about, she was a nice girl but I couldn't see us being best friends. There was something about her that put me on edge, and I couldn't quite work out what it was. Perhaps it was just me being stupid but I tended to trust my gut in these situations, and my gut was telling me that I shouldn't expect to find friendship in Liz Allen.

"Elizabeth..." I hmm'd in response, my attention remaining on Maddie as she went over steps with Michelle and a few other girls. I'd been surprised to find that Michelle picked the dance up quickly, following easily and performing the steps to near perfection. "Can I ask you a question... about Peter?"

This caught my attention, my gaze leaving Maddie and flicking to the girl beside me. What could she possibly want to know about Peter Parker that I could tell her? Despite my discomfort over the situation, I nodded, encouraging her to continue.

"Well... you and Peter are like, really good friends, right?" I shrugged. I supposed we had been hanging out a lot recently, and we got on really well. I just wasn't sure where she was going with this. "What do you think of him? Like, as a person, what's your opinion?"

"Uh..." I frowned, that was an odd question to ask and something I hadn't really thought about in too much detail, meaning coming up with an answer wasn't going to be easy. Or at least, I thought it wouldn't. "He's great. You know... he's smart and he's kind, and he always has something nice to say. He's a bit weird and awkward but he's sweet and he's funny... like really funny." I caught myself, diverting my gaze and coughing awkwardly. Apparently it wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be to formulate an opinion, not when I already had a very clear one in my mind. She chewed at her lower lip, nodding thoughtfully at my words as she turned something over in her head.

"This is super random but... do you think he likes me?" I sucked in a breath, my teeth moving to chew at the inside of my cheek. It was stupid and unnecessary but I felt a pang of something, maybe jealousy? There was no reason for it, so I shook it away, composing myself before speaking.

"Yeah, I mean you guys are friends." She shook her head, looking slightly bashful as she responded.

"No I mean... like-like me. As in more than a friend." I bit my tongue, sitting up from the wall and offering her a thoughtful expression. I don't know why I said what I did next, but I said it, and I didn't regret saying it.

"No. I don't think so..." Her smile faltered slightly as I spoke, and I instantly felt guilty, yet still I continued. "I mean, he tells me pretty much everything and he's never mentioned you in conversation so... I'm not sure." She nodded silently, pulling her lips back into a tight smile and offering a shrug.

"Never mind then, I suppose..." Wanting nothing more than to end this horrifically awkward interaction, I pushed myself back to my feet, offering a hand to Liz.

"Come on, lets get back to it. I'll help you with the steps." I was a horrible person. It was as simple as that. Man, I could be a real bitch.

"Els I don't have time for this! I have an art class to teach in like 30 minutes and I need to get to Midtown high." I rolled my eyes, checking both ways before hopping off the curb and crossing the street.

"Oh my god literally shut up, I just want a bag of Haribo, I'm craving sugar." Despite her protests, she followed closely behind, entering the small convenience store at my heel. She perked up somewhat when I offered to buy her some snacks to keep her going through her class, as well as offering to meet her after the class and drive home together.

I scanned the shelves, quickly finding the bag of Haribo I so desperately sought, along with a Creme Egg, a bottle of orange juice and a bag of jerky. I ignored the way she eyed my arms full of snacks, breezing past her with narrowed eyes.

"I'm craving... Don't judge me." She held up her hands in defeat, dropping a bag of chocolates on top of my pile and following me towards the checkout. I piled the snacks onto the counter, waiting patiently as the girl scanned the items through. I had just handed over the cash when the bell above the door jingled, as it did whenever someone entered or exited the store. I noted the way the cashiers eyes widened slightly as she reached under the counter, her movement so subtle it was hardly noticeable, yet it was a movement indicative of only one thing. Panic button.

"Els..." Maddie's voice was quiet as she attempted to catch my attention, her hand coming to rest on my arm as I turned to face her. My breath hitched in my throat as I was faced with the barrel of a gun, pointed threateningly in my direction.

"Move." The man waved the gun to the side, gesturing for myself and Maddie to get out of his way, which we did without hesitation. Once we had stepped aside, he turned his attention to the cashier, who was managing to remain remarkably calm despite the situation.

"Open the register." She hesitated, not doing what he said immediately, yet quickly changing her mind as he used the back of the gun to swipe a magazine rack off onto the floor in a loud clatter. It was strange. I had always thought I'd know what to do in this situation, yet now I was in it, I was lost. There was nothing I could do against this man with a gun, and to try anything would be stupid and would probably end up getting myself or someone else hurt. So I remained where I was. The next 30 seconds or so seemed to go in slow motion, everyone freezing as the bell above the door rang once again.

"Hey, what's up?" All attention turned to the doorway, where a familiar friendly neighbourhood spider-man leaned casually, flicking through a magazine he had pulled out of god knows where. "Oh god sorry, am I interrupting something."

Despite the absolutely lack of hilarity in the situation, I snorted out a laugh, throwing my hand up to cover my mouth as I realised how incredibly inappropriate it was.

"Thank you, I'm here Monday's and Fridays." The masked vigilante quipped back in response to my laughter, dropping the magazine on the floor and quickly disarming the robber of his gun, much to the mans surprise.

The cashier quickly slammed the register closed and ran out from behind the counter, disappearing through a door in the back of the store. _Gee, thanks for the help lady._ Maddie remained frozen beside me as we observed the bizarre situation of the superhero and the robber facing off against each other. I pushed Maddie back as the robber swung, narrowly missing us as he aimed for Spider-man. Thankfully, he easily dodged his fists, managing to land a blow himself. Though I think perhaps it was more for show than to actually fight the guy.

I turned to my friend, attempting to calm her as she left her trance-like state, panic beginning to show its face. I hushed her as she stumbled over her words, urging her back down the aisle to a safer location. I'd just managed to settle her slightly, sitting her down next to the chips when a crash from behind drew my attention. For some unknown reason, I rose to my feet, allowing them to carry me towards the sound rather than away, my earlier reaction of freezing not applying in this case. I paused as I got to the end of the aisle, assessing the scene in front of me. The robber was still on his feet, looking quite impressed with himself as he admired the device at the end of his right arm. Silver metal snaked around his wrist, covering the back of his hand and round to his palm, where a blue light glowed ominously. Whatever that device was, I knew immediately that it was dangerous, especially in the hands of an idiot like this.

I glanced around, panic beginning to rise as he moved towards the fallen vigilante, who was currently struggling to pick himself up after the blast had hit him square in the chest. I sucked in a deep breath, squashing down my panic and steadying myself as I worked out what to do. Magazines still littered the floor where he had thrown the shelving earlier, the magazine rack now sitting in pieces beside the counter, the plastic shelves detaching themselves from the wooden pole they had been secured to. I raised my brow as I assessed the options before me, shrugging as I crept out from behind the shelves and grabbed the wooden pole, being as quiet on my feet as was possible. This would have to do.

I turned back towards the two men, stepping forward just as the robber reached his hand out, no doubt to deliver another blast. However, he never got a chance as I swung, using as much force as I could to deliver a sharp blow to the back of his head. He fell to the floor with a thud, knocked out cold. I hummed to myself, slightly impressed by the way I handled the situation, twirling the pole in a circle at my side before resting it over my shoulder, my free hand on my hip.

A quiet groan distracted me from the unconscious man before me, as the wounded superhero struggled to climb to his feet. I moved forward, holding out a hand which he gladly accepted, and helped him to stand. We stood together in silence for a moment, assessing the damage around us and no doubt wondering what the hell to do with the man who was soundly out cold.

"Thanks." I turned to the masked superhero as he spoke, waving away his thanks as though this was something I did everyday.

"No problem." I shrugged, dropping the wooden pole to the floor as he moved towards the device that was still fixed to the man's hand. Surprisingly, it was easily removed, and he turned it over in his hands as he analysed what it was. I couldn't help but peer over his shoulder, eager to get a look at the device myself. Now that I saw it up close, I could notice intricate patterns that ran over the entirety of the metal, engravings that could either be for show or, for all I knew, were some kind of alien language. Whatever it was, it was dangerous and extremely worrying that a man like this had managed to get hold of it. I had a sudden thought, breathing a laugh as I observed the scene before me.

"What?" My laughter hadn't gone unnoticed and my - sort of - saviour was watching me intently.

"It's just funny, you know, and kinda sad. He has this amazing, most likely alien, tech that could do amazing things and what's he doing with it? Robbing a convenience store? It's a bit pathetic really." He shared in my amusement once I'd explained the thought process, placing a hand on his hip and nodding in agreement.

"Yeah that's pretty pathetic... what would you do? Take over the world?" He turned to face me and I him, and for a very brief moment it was as though I wasn't talking to a masked stranger, but a friend. A twinge in my chest told me that the familiarity of this man wasn't something to ignore. But that would have to be an issue for another time, so instead, I smiled.

"I don't need alien tech to take over the world." A moment of silence fell between us as we observed each other, his voice being the one that finally broke the silence.

"No. No, I'm sure you don't."

He shook his head slightly, glancing back down to the device and tossing it from one hand to another, glancing up as sirens made themselves heard in the distance.

"Panic alarm... handy. Cops will be here soon... You might wanna hide this and take it to your brother?" He chucked the metal glove towards me, which I caught with ease, giving it a quick look over before turning back to him with a frown.

"You know who I am?" If he wasn't wearing a mask, I would have sworn that I'd have seen a wide smile on his face.

"Of course, who doesn't." Nice to know that my fame had spread to the superhero community. I realised that his knowing me was probably also due to the fact he had helped out Tony in Berlin when everything went down with Steve. He moved towards the man, using his web to secure his hands behind his back and tying his feet together for good measure before hopping up and heading for the door, sending a quick wave over his shoulder.

"See ya around Stark." I ran towards the counter where my paid for items still sat, grabbing them before turning back.

"Wait!" He paused in the doorway, glancing back towards me as I steadied my breathing. "Catch."

His quick reflexes meant that he had no problem catching the chocolate egg that I'd just launched at him, laughing as he turned it over in his hand.

"Thanks." I simply smiled in response, watching silently as he slipped out of the door, the bell jingling as it swung shut behind him.

We'd been allowed to leave the scene fairly quickly, police dealing with the robber as I ushered Maddie towards our waiting car, a concerned looking Happy at the wheel. Despite his pleas for us both to go home, Madelyn was having none of it, insisting that he drive her straight to Midtown high for her art class. I, however, certainly did plan on going home. I had a few hours to kill before I had to head back to the school to meet Mads, and I planned on putting on something comfy, eating my snacks (minus the kindly, but regrettably, donated creme egg), and continuing with our plans for mine and Peter's - still currently unnamed - satellite programme.

Despite my eagerness to get on with work, I couldn't help but let my mind wander back to the day's goings on. Most prominently, of course, the robbery incident. First of all, hitting a robber over the head with a wooden pole... Tony would be proud. Despite how well I had handled the situation, I couldn't fight this nagging feeling that sat in the pit of my stomach. There was something about my saviour that I couldn't put my finger on, something familiar. I managed to reason with myself that it was seeing him on the news, hearing about him everywhere, that made me feel like he was familiar, in the same way you might feel like you know a celebrity due to their lives being splashed all over the media.

Once or twice, my mind even drifted back to the dance class, talking to Liz about Peter. I still didn't know why I said what I did, but I also still didn't regret it. I felt bad... but not regretful. It was stupid, I'd known Peter for a couple of months at most, and yes we were close friends, but I wasn't sure at what point I'd become so possessive of him. I liked that he wanted to talk to me, to spend time with me. I liked that part of him was mine, even though it wasn't really.

Eventually, I reasoned that it would be better to stop trying to work when my mind was clearly elsewhere, choosing instead to lounge on the sofa and watch TV until it was time to meet Maddie.

"Hey kiddo." I tipped my head back over the arm of the sofa, sending my brother a quick, upside-down salute as he entered the room.

"Sup bro."

"Why do you look like trash?" I rolled over onto my belly, resting my elbows on the arm of the chair and my chin in my hands.

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me. Thank you." He rolled his eyes as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, uncapping it and taking a swig before joining me on the sofa.

"Just being honest, squirt." I shifted up to sit, draping my legs over his and lounging back against the cushions.

"I mean, I think I'm looking great considering I was involved in a violent robbery just a few hours ago..." He choked on the water he had just sipped, twisting the cap back onto the bottle and coughing to clear his throat.

"I'm sorry, you what?"

"I was involved in a violent and potentially life threatening robbery." I repeated my earlier words to the letter, speaking slower and more clearly, grinning at the eye roll I received in return.

"Yeah, I got that. Please elaborate."

"Me and Mads were in the store getting some snacks and some guy tried to rob the place, had a gun and was pointing it at the cashier." His widened eyes and silence told me that I should probably continue and explain how I got out of this situation unscathed.

"Don't worry, Spider-man turned up. He took the dudes gun and looked like he had everything under control until..." My mouth formed a small O as I remembered a vitally important part of this story. I leapt up from the sofa, tripping over my own feet as I ran towards my bag, just managing to save myself before I fell flat on my face. I scrambled through the bag until I found what I was looking for, the mysterious device that I had wrapped safely in my hoody, stuffing it into my bag only moments before the police had arrived at the scene. I made my way back over to my brother, kneeling down beside the coffee table and placing the device in front of us.

"Here." He leaned forward, his eyes scanning the entirety of the mechanics curiously.

"What is it?" I shrugged in response, sitting back on the sofa.

"Not a clue, the guy used it to beat the crap out of poor Spider-man. Threw him hard across the room. Is it alien?" I noted the flash of panic in my brother's eyes as I mentioned the word alien. He hadn't been the same since the battle of New York, as it had been aptly named. I knew he struggled, and I knew that no matter what, he would always be scarred by what happened back then.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. What the hell is this?" He picked it up, being careful not to press anything too hard or handle it in a way that might cause it - or us - any damage.

"The core is of Chitauri origin. It appears to be of a similar makeup to the weapons they used." I gave my brother a concerned look, his worst fears brought to life as she spoke the name he so very wanted to forget. I reached out, placing a comforting hand on top of his.

"They're not coming back Tony." He nodded silently, knowing I was right, yet unsettled none-the-less. "Someone must have salvaged this from the debris years ago. Perhaps they've been using Chituari weapon remnants to make weapons of their own?"

He didn't reply straight away, turning the device over in his hands as he prodded and analysed each part of the surface with intense scrutiny.

"Don't worry about it Els, I'll take a look at it, see if we can work out what's going on." He stood to leave, still holding it tight as he walked around to the back of the sofa.

"Are you okay though? You're not hurt?" I shook my head with a smile.

"I didn't even tell you the best part." He raised a brow, gesturing for me to continue.

"While Spider-man was out of action, this guy was going for him... like, I think he was going to hurt him bad. So I smacked him over the back of the head with a wooden pole. Knocked him out cold." My brother barked out a laugh, patting me on the shoulder before ruffling my hair.

"That's my girl." I fell silent as he turned to leave, thinking things over before speaking.

"Tony... it was strange. Meeting Spider-man..." He stopped in his tracks, turning back to me with a frown.

"Strange how?" He folded his arms over his chest and watched me with a curious gaze.

"It was like... I dunno, he was familiar. There was just something about him." Tony simply nodded, humming quietly in response.

"Probably just the adrenaline, getting you all wired." I suppose that made sense, I was still pretty on edge from the whole thing.

"He seems nice though, kinda funny actually. He literally walked in on a crime in progress and immediately made a joke. I think you'd like him." I added as a side note, sending him a wide smile.

"Yeah?" He smiled back, breathing a laugh, his eyes holding something I couldn't quite decipher. "Yeah maybe I would. Anyway, I'm gonna go get some work done, you good?"

"I'm good." He moved back towards the couch, leaning over and placing a kiss on the top of my head.

"See you later kid."

"Later Tony."

I tucked my phone into my pocket, giving a quick thanks and a wave over my shoulder to my driver, letting him know I wouldn't be too long. It was late evening and the blue sky of the day had begun to merge with the orange glow of the setting sun, casting an array of warm reds and deep purples across the horizon.

I wrinkled my nose at the prospect of entering the old brick school building that loomed ahead of me, even though it would be empty and quiet. There was something about being in a school after dark that was unsettling. Why Madelyn chose to use this space for her classes was beyond me. I'd offered to create her a new space in the tower, or to hire out a real studio but she'd argued - and I quote - "the pitiful attempts at 'art' the students here create motivate me to be so much better in every way". Whatever worked for her I suppose.

I pushed on the front door warily, unsure if it would be unlocked, but pleased when it easily swung open allowing me through. Schools were creepy after hours, and although the lights still illuminated the long hall, the silence cast an unsettling atmosphere. I paused after a few steps, realising that I actually had no idea where I needed to go, with Maddie giving me no directions or clues as to where this art classroom was. My previous and only visit to this school involved walking from the front door to the staff room, to the sports hall, and back, only giving me a snapshot of the maze of corridors that made up the building.

I'd just begun typing out the SOS text to Mads when my attention was drawn to a group of people making their way along the hallway towards me. What is it with people hanging out after hours in schools? I sighed, tucking my phone away as I decided it would be markedly easier to ask one of these guys than attempt to decipher what were sure to be hideously confusing directions from Mads.

"Hey, can any of you tell me where the art classroom is? This place is a maze." My gaze finally flicked up from my phone, glancing between each member of the group as I realised who I had happened to bump into.

"Elizabeth?" I raised a brow, a smirk tugging at my lips as I spotted who had said my name.

"Peter Parker." He smiled, a hint of nervousness apparent as he approached. It was strange, seeing him with his friends, in a different situation to normal. It was kind of like being with a different person entirely. He seemed nervous when we were around others, like his every action was being scrutinised. I noticed this more so when Liz Allen was around, such as she was right now. When we were alone there were no nerves, no anxious shuffling or stumbling over his words. When we were alone it was like we'd always known each other. He was relaxed.

"No freakin' way, you're Elizabeth Stark," a familiar dark skinned boy announced, while rudely shoving his way past Peter to the front of the group. "Hi, I'm Flash, you might remember me?"

"Unfortunately yes, I do... I hope you're not going to try and ask me out again." I muttered my response, immediately taking a dislike to the smug smirk he offered, and instead turning back towards Peter.

"Hanging around school after hours, a bit weird don't you think?" I smiled, taking a step closer to him, subsequently placing Flash behind me.

"At least I go to this school, what's your excuse?" I laughed offering a nod of agreement and folding my arms over my chest.

"Touché"

"Hey Els," I glanced over my shoulder to receive a wave and a smile from Liz, and a curt nod from Michelle. I responded in like, a small wave greeting them both.

"Why do you all know each other? How did Peter Parker end up friends with a Stark? Is this real or am I being pranked..." I grinned at Flash's comments, realising he must not know about our work together, throwing an arm over Peter's shoulder.

"Oh yeah, Liz, Michelle, Ned and I work together a lot, and Pete and I are best buds," I noted his nervous chuckle as he tensed in my grasp. I could practically feel Flash's scowl in response before folding his arms over his chest and turning to leave without another word. I turned back to Peter, removing my arm from his shoulder.

"So, art classroom? I could use a guide".

"Yeah, yeah of course... uh, I'll um, see you guys tomorrow." Flash simply offered a "whatever Parker" before walking away, the rest of the group saying their goodbyes before heading towards the door, leaving the two of us alone.

"Uh, the classroom's this way," he pointed behind him, nodding for me to follow. "So, why are you here? Not that it isn't nice to see you here, right now, it's just... strange, as you don't go here. Where do you go? Wait, aren't you home schooled?"

He was babbling, and strangely, it was adorable. I dropped my head forward, a curtain of hair shrouding my laughter.

"Mads is here, she's just run an art class for the Foundation. Why are you here?"

"Uh, training for the decathlon, it's coming up soon, but I'm not sure if I'm going to do it, with the whole Stark internsh-" He stopped suddenly, catching what he'd said at the last minute.

"The Stark internship hm," I mused quietly as we walked. I already knew it didn't exist, and he knew that I knew. But whatever, I'd play along for now. "How's that going? You still haven't given me the run down of that."

He faltered slightly in his step, before composing himself and sending me a smile.

"Yeah, it's going great... I mean, I haven't had much to do recently, not since the internship retreat in Germany, but hopefully it picks up soon." Germany? I know exactly what happened in Germany, and I don't remember there ever being anything resembling a retreat. I studied him as he spoke, looking carefully for anything else that might reveal what was actually going on. Nothing. He wasn't giving anything else away. Perhaps I could give Steve a call, he might hate Tony but he still loved me, and he was bound to have answers.

"Perhaps I could talk to Tony, see if he can get you a bit more involved?"

"That would be great!" He sounded pleased at he idea, but the glint of panic in his eyes told me different.

"Um, so here we are... art classroom." We paused outside the classroom door and I watched him as he shuffled on his feet. I grinned, ready to point out his discomfort.

"Are you uncomfortable around me Peter?" His gaze darted to meet mine, slightly Taken aback by the straighforwardness of my question.

"I... uh... no, I mean, yeah, I suppose, a bit..."

"You're fine when we hang out at my place but right now... you seem rattled," I asked genuinely curious at this point. "Why is that?"

"Well you know, because you're-"

"Elizabeth Stark, little sister of billionaire Tony Stark?" I cut him off, rolling my eyes and assuming the same answer as I always got.

"No, actually..." he began with a frown, looking much less awkward and uncomfortable than he had only a moment ago. He didn't seem offended by my assumptions perhaps just a bit disappointed at my thought process if anything. "I was going to say pretty".

"Oh..." Now it was my turn to feel awkward.

"Pretty girls make me nervous, especially when they're smart too. And I get weird when other people are around because I feel like they're looking at me like I'm an idiot while I'm there stumbling over my words because I'm distracted by the fact you're beautiful." I could feel the blush creeping onto my cheeks, a pleasant warmth spreading through me at his comment.

"You don't need to be nervous around me. We're best buds, remember? Plus, if we're going to be working together on the satellites, you're going to have to chill out. Be comfortable, I'm super welcoming and nice." I grinned, brushing past the fact he'd just told me that he thinks I'm beautiful and holding out my clenched hand, receiving a laugh and a fist bump in return.

"Yeah okay, best buds... does this mean I can do this?" He reached out and ruffled my hair barking out a loud laugh when I swatted him away with a frown.

"Sure, if you want a broken hand." I smirked as I tamed my hair back into place.

"Noted." He held his hands up in surrender.

"Give me your phone." I made a sudden decision, holding out my hand and prompting him to drop the device into my waiting palm. I quickly typed in my number and saved the contact, sending myself a quick message to transfer his details to me.

"Can't be best friends if we can't text each other random crap late at night".

"You've made a terrible mistake giving me free rein on texting. Get ready for 100 hideous selfies and midnight rants." Surprisingly, the prospect appealed to me much more than I'd have thought it would.

"You promise?" I commented with a smile. He held out his pinky finger towards me.

"Best buds?" I linked my pinky in his, repeating his words in my most serious tone.

"The pact is sealed." He whispered dramatically.

"You're a dork," his frown elicited a laugh from me as I batted his hand away. "Text me soon and maybe we could hang out, not work related for once. Go get food or something?" He gasped, placing a hand on his heart, feigning shock.

"Is this Elizabeth Stark asking me on a date?!" I patted him on the shoulder with a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry Pete, but we're just friends."

"Best friends." He corrected, jabbing a finger at me.

"Get lost loser," I laughed, waving him away and turning towards the classroom door, "and don't forget to text me!" I called over my shoulder, just hearing a quiet "Oh, I won't" in response as he left, I glanced behind me and watched him leave, only turning away once he'd slipped out of the door.

I'd just raised my hand to the door handle when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I smiled as the screen lit up, a single notification displayed.

 _Peter Parker:_

 _\- Hi_

And so it begins.

—

Finally we have some Spider-man action. Are you not entertained? Honestly the banter between Els and Peter (and Els and Spider-man) is killing me to write I love it so much. I know you're probably not supposed to but I am the biggest fan of my own work and it makes me feel so much.

I hope it makes you guys feel things to. Tell me. Tell me how it makes you feel (unless it makes you feel sick in which case keep it to yourself thnx) Also, do you think Els was a bitch for what she did to Liz?

Hope you enjoyed! Please review and leave Kudos and love and well wishes for my brain which is having to work overtime to produce this excellency right now.

\- Amelie


	8. The City of Love - Part 1

I folded the last of my clothes, organising them neatly into the large black suitcase that was sitting on my bed. I'd dug the suitcase out of storage late last night, hurriedly beginning the long and arduous task of packing for an unexpected week away at around midnight. It was almost 2am when I finally gave up, resolving to finish the rest the next morning, as long as I made sure to have it done by midday when we were heading out.

Pepper had arrived home at around 11pm the previous night, announcing that she had a couple of meetings in Paris this week, and that Maddie and I were to drop everything and go along with her for a much needed girly holiday. Of course, I'd initially explained how I had too much work to do, but had immediately been shot down by both Pepper and Tony, who had insisted I immediately pack my suitcase. I suppose it couldn't do any harm, and I was definitely in need of a holiday.

I hadn't been planning on taking a trip, between the foundation, lesson planning and mine and Peter's satellite project, I had far too much work to do to be taking a holiday. As well as that, I had more than one incredible important movie night planned this week. One with Maddie, of course, and at least three with Peter, who had insisted that I MUST watch every Star Wars film with my absolute undivided attention and interest. Speaking of, I grabbed my phone from where it lay on my bedside table, unlocking it and navigating to my texts. I had one from Maddie, letting me know that she was on her way over, and one from Peter. I opened his message, scanning the words and formulating a response.

 _I can't believe you're cancelling THREE movie nights to go to Paris. I think you need to work out your priorities Miss Stark._

I smiled, quickly typing out my response and pressing send.

 _The city of love, one of the most beautiful in the world... or stuck in a room with you for multiple hours? I think my priorities are right where they should be._

As always, I assumed he had been sat staring at his phone as he responded almost immediately.

 _As long as you don't fall in love with some beautiful French man and forget about me. I don't think my heart could handle you having movie nights with another guy._

He followed up his message with a broken heart emoji, closely followed by a crying face. I shook my head with a laugh, enjoying the playful rapport we had between us. It had happened quite suddenly really, one day being friendly acquaintances who worked together, and the next inseparable. Ever since Peter had sent me a text that night at the school, it had barely stopped. We'd been texting back and forth almost constantly for the last few weeks, finding any excuse possible to hang out, whether it be for work or just because we fancied it. Of course, I'd received a never ending amount of stick from Maddie about it, her rants split between "you are so in love with him it's gross" and "you hang out with this boy more than me, come back."

As well as my friendship with Peter growing, I'd also become a lot friendlier with Ned, his presence, more often than not, alongside us when we hung out. Maddie had initially refused to "do nerd stuff with nerds" as she put it, but had eventually given in and started hanging out with us. It was nice, having more than one friend who wasn't just there because of my name. It wasn't something I'd been familiar with growing up, with Maddie being the only friend I'd ever had who was there for reasons other than my family name, but now it was different.

Of course, Peter and I had continued to profusely deny that anything was going on, or was going to happen between us, much to everyone's disbelief and dismay. I'd even had to suffer through an awkward interaction with Liz where she had questioned whether Peter and I were dating. I stood strong in my belief that we were just, and would never be more than, best friends. I quickly typed up a reply to Peter's message, giving him the answer he both wanted, and knew he would get.

 _I could never forget about you, Peter Parker x_

I hit send, shoving my phone in my pocket, slamming my suitcase shut and fastening the zip. I dragged it ungracefully off the bed, letting it hit the floor with a thud before wheeling it towards the door.

Once Maddie had arrived, we had a quick breakfast courtesy of the abysmal cooking skills of my brother, who had insisted on feeding us all in before our flight despite the fact we had all the food we could want on the plane. When I'd finally managed to clear my plate and convince Tony that I certainly did not need more food, I hurried off to make sure everything was sorted before I showered and changed, making a few last minute checks to ensure I didn't miss anything. It wasn't long before Happy was carrying our bags out to the car and loading them up before speeding us off to the airport.

The best thing about being Elizabeth Stark had to be the private jet. Maddie had claimed a large sofa, slipping her headphones in and exchanging her shoes for slippers, well and truly making herself comfortable for the journey ahead. I had followed suit with the slippers, as well as twisting my still damp hair into a messy bun on top of my head. Pepper was elsewhere, probably sorting out some last minute details before she boarded the plane. She might complain about Tony being a workaholic but she was no different. They were two peas in a pod.

I was just settling in for the journey, lounging comfortably back against the seat cushions when my phone buzzed. I glanced at the screen, the familiar name bringing a smile to my face.

"Don't you dare tell me that's Peter who just text you." Maddie narrowed her eyes at me, one headphone removed as she leaned around the arm of her chair. I remained silent, biting my lip to suppress my smile. "You're disgusting and I hate both of you. But mostly... I'm just disappointed."

"And why are you disappointed, Madelyn?" I rolled my eyes, setting my phone aside and ignoring the message for a minute as I spoke to my friend.

"Because, the Elizabeth I know always gets what she wants, and is never coy about it. He might be a skinny nerd, but if he's a skinny nerd that you want... what's holding you back?"

"I have literally never said I want him."

"You don't need to," She raised two fingers up to point at her eyes, before turning them towards me. "The eyes say it all honey."

I blinked rapidly, turning my attention away from her lest I subconsciously reveal anything else through my eyes. She laughed, muttering an 'I told you so' before popping her headphones back in. My attention turned to my phone, opening up the message and reading it with a smile.

 _Have a safe flight and text me when you arrive. Make sure you tell me everything about Paris and I'll see you in a week x_

It was sweet. A simple statement of well wishes that served to brighten my day just a little bit. I didn't miss the way he had started to add a kiss to the end of some messages, just as I had done a couple of times. If I was being completely honest with myself, there had been a few times over the last couple of weeks when even I had questioned my insistence that Peter and I were only friends. I thought back to the previous week, when Peter, Ned, Maddie and I had taken a trip to the American Museum of Natural History. There had been a moment, during our stroll through the Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites, just a split second when I had wondered if being with him would really be so bad.

 _*Flashback*_

 _I followed behind the group, Maddie taking the lead as she complained about how meteorites were just space rocks and there was no reason to have an entire exhibition on them. Ned had jumped in at that point, attempting to explain their importance and argue against her opinion, despite the fact we all knew his pleas were falling on deaf ears. Peter and I had dropped behind, taking our time to inspect each of the plaques that displayed information on the exhibits, thoroughly enjoying our educational day out._

" _Holy crap, this one is 34 tonnes... that is a big rock." Peter approached from behind, peering over my shoulder at the display I was currently observing with a quiet hum and a nod._

" _A damn big rock." I turned my attention away from what was listed as the 'Cape York Meteorite', my interest captured by the next display._

" _Ooh look, these are from the 1970's Apollo missions... That's so cool."_

" _It's crazy though, don't you think?" I turned to face him, shooting him a questioning look before he continued, "You know like... these are rocks from the moon, that's cool and all but, we've literally met a god from another world. It seems so irrelevant now." I nodded silently before turning back with a shrug._

" _I dunno, I think there's something kinda romantic about it."_

" _In what way are moon rocks romantic..." I couldn't help but laugh at his perplexed expression, as though everything he though he knew about romance had just been wiped away._

" _We did this on our own. Little useless humans, with a little rocket, doing something we never thought was possible. Gods are cool, but we did something special, and new, and exciting. Something that changed the world. I think that's a pretty romantic sentiment, don't you?" He didn't answer immediately, simply watching me with a quirk of his lips that was almost a smile._

" _Your mind is incredible, you know that?" I shuffled awkwardly on my feet as a blush warmed my cheeks. "Only you, Elizabeth Maria Stark, could find romance in an old rock."_

 _I shrugged, muttering an 'I suppose' as I allowed my hair to drop forward and partially shield my face. Through the wall of hair I could see him shake his head._

" _Don't... I hate it when you do that." He reached forward, sweeping my hair back and tucking it behind my ear, leaving my face fully uncovered. "Your face is way too pretty to hide."_

 _My breath hitched in my throat, and in that moment I wondered why I was so determined to avoid any chance of us ending up together romantically. My skin tingled where his hand lingered, fingers brushing over my ear, silence falling in the space between us._

" _Will you two stop flirting in front of a pile of rocks and move, there's only so much alone time with Ned I can take." The spell was broken as Maddie peered around the corner of the doorway, raising a brow at our close proximity and the way Peter's hand had been in my hair until only a moment earlier. Peter simply sighed with a quick laugh, dropping his head forward with a small shake before looking back up at me. I could have sworn he looked disappointed._

" _C'mon. We better catch up before Maddie kills Ned." He held out his hand to me and I happily slipped my fingers into his, allowing him to lead me from the room._

 _*End of flashback*_

Now that I really thought about it, my insistence that he didn't like me in that way seemed silly. At the time of course, it had been like every other normal interaction between the two of us, though if that interaction now held romantic intent... what did that mean about the rest of the times we'd been together that I had assumed were normal?

"Who's that? Is that Peter?" I peered up to see Pepper, leaning over the back of my chair with a smirk.

"Yes, it's Peter." I ignored her quiet mm-hmm as she rounded the chair and took a seat beside me.

"Still in denial about your feelings." She nudged her shoulder against mine, sending me that all-knowing look. For the first time, I didn't give an immediate response. I didn't jump to defend myself, to deny that I felt anything more than friendship. This didn't go unnoticed to Pepper, whose smile dropped as she narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me you've finally worked this out?"

"God no. I have worked nothing out." I shook my head with a sigh, dropping my phone onto my lap and flopping my head back against the chair. "I've just... caught my self thinking about him recently. And there have been times when I've questioned what would be so bad about being more than friends, you know?"

"Answer me one question," She straightened in her seat, resting her hand atop mine, suddenly completely serious. "When he touches you, holds your hand, gives you a hug, does that cute thing where he's always brushing your hair out of your face... how does that make you feel?"

I pondered the question, chewing at my lip as I searched for an answer that would explain everything correctly. It was difficult, finding the words to explain the way his touch left my skin tingling, longing for him to never let go. The way all he had to do was smile, or say my name and butterflies would erupt in my stomach, my heart skipping a beat and my breath hitching in my throat at such simple acts. But I couldn't say any of that, of course, I'd have to come up with an answer that was a little less romance novel.

"Happy. It makes me feel happy and sometimes a little giddy. Sometimes it even makes me a little breathless. But mostly it just feels good... it feels right, you know? He makes me feel safe, like I'm home." She sighed, her lips turning into a small smile as she reached out and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. I felt her place a kiss onto my hair before releasing me, her hands remaining on my shoulders.

"Stop punishing yourself for the way you feel. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Opening your heart wont send the world crumbling around you." I rolled my eyes, sinking back into the chair and folding my arms over my chest with a pout.

"It might." she simply laughed, nodding with a wide smile as she brushed a stray hair behind my ear.

"Okay yeah, it might. But then you pick up the pieces and you're stronger from it. Look at me and Tony... 99% of the time we're a mess. But the rest of the time... it's everything I could ever want."

It had always amazed me, how much Pepper and Tony loved each other. Of course, they'd had their ups and downs, and we'd all had to suffer through that brief period of time where Pepper had left, burdening me with the task of consoling my heartbroken brother until her - inevitable in my opinion - return. But even through that, they'd soldiered on, allowing their love for each other to carry them through the most heartbreaking and terrifying times, hand in hand throughout it all. They carried each other and they always would, and that carried me.

There was so much that I owed this woman before me, so many reasons why I was blessed to have her in my life. She was there, for any need at any time, whether that be to cry about a boy, bitch about life or just to hang out and watch rom-coms. She was always there. And she was here now, taking time to listen to my childish boy problems, something that wouldn't matter in the slightest in years to come but was my entire world right now, and she understood that. No problem was too small because when you're in it, they all seem like the end of the world.

"Thank you Pepper. Whatever did I do to deserve you?" She smiled, tapping the end of my nose with her perfectly manicured finger.

"I could say the same about you. Now, stop stressing about a boy and get excited for this trip... maybe we could even dip into the bar, as long as you don't tell your brother." I mimed zipping my lips shut with a wide smile and she winked, hopping on from the seat beside me and heading towards the cockpit where the pilot was summoning her.

I popped my headphones back on, sinking back into the chair and closing my eyes. This was going to be a long flight, and I was still pretty exhausted from my lack of rest the night before, so a little snooze wouldn't hurt.

"Merci boucoup." Now, French had never been my strongest language, but that was one phrase I was pretty certain was correct. The smile and nod I received from the bellboy told me that it was a gratefully received thanks, as he took my luggage from me and asked us to follow him.

Unsurprisingly, Pepper had made sure to book us the penthouse, meaning we had free roam of the entire top floor of the beautifully architechtured building, access to the multiple balcony views, and all the living space we could possibly need for our week long stay.

Pepper tipped the man - extremely generously by the look he gave her - and he went on his merry way, leaving us to unpack our things and get settled in. Madelyn had quickly claimed a large room to the back of the building, which sported a balcony overlooking the city. Unsurprisingly though, this wasn't the only room with such a view, and in Maddie's haste to claim her bed, she'd allowed me to drop my things off in the slightly larger room at the front of the hotel, with the en-suite and view of the Eiffel Tower. She quickly stopped bragging about her view when she saw mine, grumbling about the Eiffel Tower being stupid and structurally bizarre anyway before disappearing back to her room.

It didn't take us long to unpack, eagerly accepting Pepper's invitation to do a little sightseeing and grab dinner once we were all ready. Our flight hadn't been as long as I expected only taking around 7 hours, then another 45 minutes or so to get to our hotel, so we had arrived around 6pm, just in time to sort ourselves out and head out for food.

I dug through my clothes, eventually settling on a floral summer dress, paired with tights and black heeled boots to make it a little more weather appropriate considering the cooler evening temperature outside. I slipped on my everyday favourite black tailored coat and threw my phone, purse and other necessities into a small black shoulder bag and made for the door.

As always, we spent a good ten minutes waiting at the door for Madelyn, who had insisted that she would be ready any moment at least six times while we tapped our toes impatiently. My stomach had started to growl and I was sure that if I had to wait much longer I would drag her from her room by her hair. I'd noticed Pepper glancing at her watch a few times, her hand resting on the door handle as she readied herself to leave as soon as Maddie made her appearance.

Finally, she joined us, strolling casually towards the door as though she hadn't made us wait for her. Nothing out of the ordinary for Madelyn Hogan. Pepper was out of the door in a shot, tapping away at her phone as she arranged our car to the restaurant.

"Pretty dress." I glanced to my left to see Maddie, her fingers reaching out and pinching at the hem of my dress. I was about to thank her, before she continued. "You know who I think would love it..."

"If you say what I think you're about to, I am going to push you in front of this beautiful car." I gestured toward the jet black Mercedes S class that waited for our arrival.

"I mean, the car is parked so that isn't much of a threa-" I cut her off with a start glare, her hands raised in defeat as she bit her lip to suppress a smile.

I walked ahead of her in silence, slipping into the back seat of the car and closing the door behind me, forcing Maddie to get in from the other side with a huff.

"That was petty." She folded her arms over her chest, turning and looking out of the window dramatically.

"That was petty." I mimicked in a silly voice as she rolled her eyes, my lips breaking into a grin.

"My god Elizabeth, anyone would think you're a child." I nudged her shoulder playfully as she succumbed to her amusement, a wide smile on her face.

 _So, I figure there are two reasons you haven't responded to my messages. 1. You have no service/your phone has been dropped from the top of the Eiffel Tower; or 2. Your plane crashed somewhere over the ocean and you're now stuck on a desert island with a basketball as your only/best friend._

I hadn't really looked at my phone all day, sleeping for most of the flight, then preoccupied with unpacking and dinner, so I hadn't gotten a chance to text Peter. I felt a little guilty, considering I had promised to let him know when I arrived, but I'm sure he wouldn't die if I didn't respond immediately. I began typing out my message, a small smile on my face

 _Actually, my best friend is a coconut, but this desert island is lovely I'm thinking I might buy it... build a holiday home._

I hit send, dropping my phone onto the bed as I changed out of my clothes and into one of Tony's old oversized band t-shirts I had taken to wearing as pyjamas. Leaving my clothes in a heap on the floor, I trudged out of my room into the small kitchen that our room offered. It wasn't much, and you certainly couldn't cook a meal in it but with room service why would you want to. It did, however, have a microwave, a toaster and a kettle, the basics that would serve my needs just fine right now. I grabbed a mug from the cupboard, setting about making myself a delicious hot chocolate which I was badly craving right now. By the sounds of the silence around me, Pepper and Maddie had retired to their rooms. Whether they were sleeping or not I didn't know, but I certainly wouldn't be any time soon.

I'd been pouring over my thoughts all day, only receiving a small bit of restbite during my snooze on the plane here, which had done nothing but mean I was now wide awake when I should be sleeping. I grabbed my mug and headed back to my room, closing the door quietly behind me. I scooped up my phone, glancing at the notifications that now filled the screen. Oh god, I'd opened up the Peter Parker floodgates. I smiled, slipping my arms into the fluffy white dressing gown that had come with the room, popping my feet into matching slippers and heading for the balcony doors.

Floor to ceiling windows looked out onto the spacious balcony, which was decorated with trailing ivy and roses, winding their way around black metal fencing. If there was ever a stereotypical french hotel balcony, this was it. A small mosaic patterned metal table sat to the left, two matching chairs beside it, while to the right was a long bench, decorated with soft looking white cushions. I opted for the cushions as I stepped out into the cool night air, the sounds of the lively city streets quiet far below me. In a way it was like being at home, a different city sporting the same sounds and sights. Bright lights stretched out before me and for once the buildings didn't tower high above. I was looking down on it all, like a bird might view the world from its perch.

I dropped onto the bench, tucking my legs beneath me and taking a sip of my drink before turning to my phone and unlocking it. I wasn't wrong about the Peter Parker flood gates as I opened my messages to see that I had six new unread.

 _I suppose if I had to be replaced by anyone, a coconut isn't the worst..._

 _But I do still feel betrayed that you didn't text me when you landed, I've been lost without you._

 _How's Paris? Have you met your future husband yet? Is his name Sebastian? Or Pierre? Does he wear a beret?_

 _Do I need to come to Paris and fight him for your hand?_

 _What time is it there? Isn't it like super late?_

 _Gimme all the updates of 'the city of love' so far._

I rolled my eyes at his rambling. If there was one thing Peter was good at it was chatting utter shit at a near constant rate. Not that I didn't enjoy that, I found it quite entertaining and I actually enjoyed the shit he chatted most of the time. I made a start to reply but quickly stopped, leaving my messages and heading to his contact instead. _I wasn't sleeping any time soon and typing a million responses would take an awful lot of effort -_ was my thought process as I hit the call button, lifting the phone to my ear as it began to ring.

I'd just taken another sip of my hot chocolate as the ringing ended and I was greeting with the familiarly chipper voice of my friend.

" _Hey Els, what's up?"_

"What's up is that I couldn't be bothered to type a response to your millions of messages and questions, so I figured I'd call you instead." His quiet laugh sounded through the speaker and I coudn't stop the smile it caused.

" _That's probably a wise idea... sorry for bombarding you I'm just full of curiosity which my Aunt May says is a very redeeming quality."_

"Well, your Aunt May clearly doesn't fully understand how annoying your curiosity is."

" _Trust me... she does."_ I laughed, shifting in my seat and having another drink before breathing out a sigh.

"Okay, the answers to your messages are as follows: a coconut is a pretty good substitute for you, there isn't much difference," I heard his scoff through the speaker and grinned, carrying on before he could complain about the insult. "Sorry I didn't text when I got here, It's been a lot of travelling and unpacking then we went out for dinner, and I'm terribly sorry you had to manage without me for a day. Unfortunately I've not met a husband yet, though the bellboy did smile at me in a way I'm certain meant that he wanted me... so we'll see how that plays out, and no you don't need to fight anyone. Yet."

I brushed over the 'fighting for my hand' part of that, knowing that anything I said about that would likely make me flustered and end up with a self satisfied Peter and an embarrassed me.

"It's like... 11:45pm here so yeah it's pretty late, but you know me, I never sleep anyway so don't worry about it. And finally, Paris is gorgeous. I'll send you a picture of the view from my balcony. I thought it was pretty during the day but at night... Peter it is beautiful." I cast my gaze towards the city, drinking in the view as I'm sure I would many times while I was here.

" _I'd love to go to Paris... Berlin was nice but I didn't really get to see the sights."_ Great, thanks Pete... bring up one of the things that had been eating away at me for months now, that was sure to help me get to sleep tonight.

I still hadn't gotten any closer to finding out what was being hidden from me, and it was driving me insane. Tony had been radio silence on the whole issue for a while now, and had made it clear he would not be uttering a word on the subject, so eventually I had given up, opting to work on different avenues instead.

"Yeah, I think you'd like it here... we should go sometime. You and me. A little holiday." My stomach tightened as I said it, knowing that I was - intentionally or not - insinuating something from that offer. Of course, whether I was insinuating anything or not didn't bother Peter, merely giving him an opening to tease me.

" _Just the two of us? Together? In the City of Love?"_ I rolled my eyes, his face clear in my mind as he spoke. I could just see that smug little smirk that I had grown to love so. " _I dunno Els, that seems risky. Aren't you worried that you'll fall deeply, madly in love with me?"_

Yes. Maybe.

"I'm more worried that you'll end up fighting any French man who looks at me in a nice way. I don't wanna have to be bailing you out of a Parisian jail." He hummed in response and I hoped he hadn't noticed the slight waver in my voice as I attempted to mask the way my chest twisted when he spoke about me falling in love with him. I mentally chastised myself for my weakness, taking a breath to steady myself.

"Plus, I'm more worried about you falling in love with me. I am irresistible." I heard a quiet mutter in response, quiet enough that I'm sure I wasn't supposed to hear it. But I did. Had he just said 'don't I know it'? No. He couldn't have. But he had and I'd heard it. My breath hitched in my throat and I coughed quietly to loosen the lump that had formed there.

" _C'mon Els, everyone knows you're not supposed to call yourself irresistible. If you carry on like that your head's gonna explode."_ Thank you, sweet, sweet Peter for continuing the conversation as normal and forcing me out of my near mental breakdown.

"Well... someone's got to." I huffed, followed by a quiet laugh.

" _What about bell boy Pierre? I'm sure you could convince him to carry your luggage anywhere."_ The name came out in a breathless sigh as he put on the dramatics, as usual. I rolled my eyes, shifting in my seat to lay down, the hot chocolate and the soothing city sounds beginning to make me a little sleepy.

"Hmm no, I don't think Pierre is quite my type..."

" _Do tell me Elizabeth, what is your type?"_ I thought about my response for a moment, a smile forming on my lips.

"I suppose... brunette, kinda nerdy, high school kid with big ambitions..." I new full well that in my mind I was seeing Peter as I listed off my description. But I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

" _Look Els, you can just tell me that you're in love with me if you want, it's fine."_ I rolled my eyes at his tone, knowing how much he was enjoying this and very ready to burst his bubble.

"Actually I was talking about Ned." I responded simply, a smirk playing at the corners of my mouth as I envisioned his expression dropping. "Do you think you could let him know?"

" _Hmm. Well... He'll be super excited to know that and I am heartbroken. Thank you Els, for breaking my heart."_ I breathed a laugh, closing my eyes and enjoying the sound of his laughter in response.

"Aww c'mon Pete. You know that if I ended up old and single, you'd be the one I settle for and marry just so I don't die alone." Hopefully it would never come to that, though I didn't doubt that it was completely and utterly the truth.

" _Wow. That's the kindest thing you've ever said to me."_ His voice was deadpan as he spoke, and I was almost certain he was rolling his eyes at that moment. I'm sure he had said something after that, but I wasn't sure what it was as I began to drift in and out of consciousness.

" _Elizabeth. You still there?"_ I was woken by his voice calling my name through the speaker of the phone that was now laying on the cushions beside my head, instead of in my hand.

"Hm, yeah, sorry I'm still here." I blinked my eyes rapidly as I clawed my way back to consciousness.

" _Go to sleep stupid."_ I frowned, knowing he was right but simultaneously not wanting to end the call.

"Nah you know I'd rather talk to you. I'm not even tired."

" _Els you just fell asleep for a good five minutes..."_

"You hang up this call and I will fly straight back to New York solely to kick your ass Peter Parker." I wasn't sure why I didn't just end the call and go to sleep. I needed to and part of me wanted to. But another part of me didn't like being in a city thousands of miles away from one of my best friends, and I wanted to keep a part of him here with me for a little longer.

" _Okay okay, how about this. I'm assuming you're still sitting out on the balcony, so go inside, get in bed, and I will stay on the phone until you fall asleep. I wont go anywhere till you're sleeping. Deal?"_ Sounded like a reasonable offer to me, so I rolled off the chair and pulled myself to my feet, grabbing my phone and trudging back inside, letting the doors close quietly behind me.

As much as I had fought it, the soft sheets of the bed were a welcome comfort as I pulled them up to my chin and closed my eyes with a quiet sigh. I switched the phone to speaker and propped it on the pillow next to me.

"This bed is the coziest thing ever I want to take it home with me." My voice was muffled slightly by the duvet but Peter's laughter told me he had heard me just fine.

" _Just find out where the bedding is from and buy it. It's not like you can't afford it."_ He was right, that was something that was well within my budget capabilities. My mind was beginning to grow hazy with sleep, and I knew this because what I said next would not have been spoken if I was fully aware.

"Maybe I will. If I get the cosy bedding can we have a sleepover? I'd like to have a sleepover with you Pete." Part of my mind was screaming at me to shut the hell up whilst the other part was slowing shutting down as sleep crept over me.

" _We can have all the sleepovers you want El-bell."_ I smiled at the nickname, something he had started referring to me as only a few weeks ago, but that I had loved from the moment it left his lips. I probably wouldn't remember it in the morning, but in that moment, drifting in the sleepy haze between confusion and clarity, I realised something. I was falling for Peter Parker.


	9. The City of Love - Part 2

I took a sip of my tea, relishing in the warmth it send through me as I sunk into the soft balcony sofa. I had made myself comfortable on the balcony that led from the sitting room about an hour ago, taking a couple of blankets with me and wrapping myself in a cocoon of cosiness, only leaving once to make a cup of tea before returning. Pepper had slipped out early this morning, donned in her finest power suit in preparation for the important meeting she had flown out here for. This left Maddie and I to occupy ourselves for the day.

We'd chosen to remain in the hotel instead of venturing out, opting to make use of the spa facilities that were on offer, though there was only so long we could spend snoozing in the sauna, and we'd eventually headed back to the room to chill out and watch some TV. I'd not long gotten out of the shower, meaning my hair was still damp and the cool breeze was sending a chill through me, prompting me to tighten my blanket cocoon. I hadn't seen Maddie in about half an hour, as she'd disappeared into her room, closing the door behind her and not making a sound since. Either way, it didn't bother me. It was quite nice to have a bit of peace and quiet for once.

The streets were a low hum of traffic, footsteps and chatter below me, people going about their day as normal with no knowledge of my presence high above. I'd always enjoyed spending time detached, nothing tying me to the people or places around me. It's how I felt now. Like a presence that wasn't really there, just observing. It was relaxing. That was, until my phone began to buzz.

My screen was filled with Peter's face, a grin on his lips and his eyes crinkled at the edges as they were shut tight. I'd asked him to smile, like a normal person, so I could get a picture for his contact. This is what I had ended up with instead. Somehow, I loved it even more.

I clicked the little green phone, answering the call and replacing Peter's photo with his live face. My own face popped up in the bottom corner, a terrible reminder of how tired and messy I currently looked with no makeup, wet hair, and wrapped in multiple blankets.

" _Hey Els! You look... cosy...?"_ I closed my eyes, taking a breath before opening them again.

"I am extremely cosy and warm right now. Might I ask why you are disturbing my peace?" I raised a brow with slightly narrowed eyes.

" _I wanted to see this amazing view you keep telling me about. And I wanted to talk to you. Is that okay?"_ It most certainly was.

"Yes. I suppose that is okay..." I tapped at the screen, switching the camera from front facing to back, revealing the city that stretched out before me from my balcony vantage point.

" _Wow, you're right. That view is something else."_

"You should see it at night." I hummed quietly, panning from left to right before turning the camera back to my face.

" _Oh god, turn the camera back around!"_ Peter's face was horrified as he was greeted once again with Cocoon Els and I frowned, more than slightly offended by his reaction.

"Well if you're going to be rude then perhaps I'll just go..."

" _No! No Els I'm kidding you're way prettier than the view!"_ His apology came out as a laugh, suceeding in also bringing a smile to my face.

"That's better." He wasn't given a chance to respond as a knock interrupted our conversation. I experienced a moment of confusion as I glanced towards the door, wondering who it could possibly be before realisation hit me. I quickly hopped up from the sofa, flinging the blankets off my shoulders and grabbing my phone as I rushed back inside.

" _Who's that? Is someone at the door? Is that Pierre? Hand over the phone, I just wanna talk to him."_ Peter's questions followed me across the room to the door and I lifted the phone up to show my unimpressed face.

"Shut up Peter you're such a loser." I clicked the mute button, placing the phone down on the small table that sat beside the door and opening to reveal the visitor.

"Bonne aprés-midi. Room service." The boy's voice was heavily accented, a smile on his face as he held the tray out towards me.

"Merci beaucoup." There it was again, the only French I knew coming in handy. I took the tray from his hands, placing it on the closest table before turning back to him.

"Juste un moment..." I grabbed my bag from the kitchen counter, rummaging through the pockets until I found my purse. I grabbed a handful of euros, not really knowing how much it was worth, and pressing it into his hand. Judging by his wide smile and thanks, it was a lot. Never mind.

I left the tray on the table, removing the lid and revealing the colourful variety of fruits that filled it. There were some that I didn't even recognised, and so I chose to steer clear of those just to be on the safe side, grabbing an apple and reclaiming my phone en route back to the balcony. I smiled into the camera, receiving an unimpressed frown in response.

" _Did you mute me? I am seriously offended. Did you do it so you couldnt hear me crying while you were flirting with Pierre?"_ I choked on my bite of apple, coughing out a laugh and shaking my head at the phone.

"I did mute you, because you wouldn't shut up. Stop being so needy and paranoid, it was room service delivering a load of fruit."

" _Hmm sure, that sounds like a reasonable lie to hide the truth of your affair."_ I shook my head, tutting quietly and pointing an accusatory finger at the camera.

"Now now Peter, jealousy is very unbecoming of you..."

" _I have nothing to be jealous of El-Bell. Out of Pierre and I, who got to fall asleep on the phone with you last night? That's like... a super romantic couple thing to do."_ I frowned, taking another bite of my apple and folding my arms over my chest.

"You say that like we're a couple... you forget we're just friends." His expression had me worried for a moment, that perhaps I had actually offended him this time.

" _How could I ever forget when you remind me every single day."_ He followed him frown with a wink and a smirk, showing me that he wasn't actually bothered by my comment.

I wasn't given a chance to respond as we were, once again, interrupted by none other than a towel clad Madelyn, her damp red hair hanging down her back in stark contrast against the fluffy white towel that just about covered her.

"What the hell am I hearing right now?" She clutched a half peeled banana in one hand, the other resting on her hip as she regarded us with a look that screamed disgust.

"You're hearing a private conversation that you are rudely interrupting." I quirked a brow at her, cocking my head slightly.

" _Yeah Maddie, get your nose out of our conversation."_ Peter's quiet voice rebutted through the phone speaker.

"What was that Parker?" In an instant, Maddie was at my side, staring down the camera with a look of fury. Everyone knew better than to chat back to Madelyn Hogan, even Peter.

" _Nothing... sorry. Um- you're, uh-"_ He stuttered over his words, his gaze flicking from the camera, off to a random point in his room and back again as I realised the source of his discomfort. " _You're just wearing a towel."_

"Does that make you uncomfortable Peter? Would you rather it was Els who was wearing a towel." She winked, squealing with laughter as I shoved her off the chair and onto the floor, her towel miraculously staying put as she sucked in a breath and righted herself.

"Go put some clothes on you're a mess." I gave Maddie my stern instructions and she huffed in response, kicking me lightly in the shin before heading towards the door.

"I wouldn't agree that you're a mess, but I am gonna ask you to go put some clothes on..." Maddie paused as Pepper blocked the doorway, glancing between Madelyn's half naked appearance, me wrapped in a blanket cocoon and Peter waving at her through the phone.

"Hi Peter," She smiled, returning his wave before addressing maddie and me. "Go get changed, I've booked dinner for us at 7".

With that she turned on her heel and disappeared back inside, Maddie following close behind her, leaving Peter and I alone again. I sighed, stretching my legs and allowing the blankets to fall, emerging from my cocoon. Unfortunately, I remained myself and had not miraculously transformed into a beautiful butterfly.

"I suppose I should go get ready then..." I dragged myself to my feet, shuffling back inside and towards my room.

" _Yeah you probably should... you gonna wear something nice? You know I expect a professional mirror selfie when you're ready, right?"_ I laughed as I closed my bedroom door behind me, smiling back at him through the phone with a small nod.

"Of course, I need my outfit approved by my favourite stylist." He muttered his thanks as I kicked my slippers off and dropped onto my bed. "Okay I'm gonna go now... I'll speak to you later, okay?"

" _Okay, have fun at dinner! I'll text you, cya El-Bell."_ He blew a kiss through the camera, which I caught with a smile before hanging up the call and falling back onto the soft sheets. That boy was going to be the death of all sense.

Of course, I'd sent Peter a selfie immediately after getting dressed, receiving a "beautiful" followed by the heart eye emoji. Maddie had immediately interjected with her comments on the situation, dissecting the meaning of the heart eye emoji as well as suggesting I send a different kind of selfie, earning her a stern glare from Pepper. I, of course, immediately turned beet red, slapping her arm as I struggled to contain my embarrassment.

The restaurant Pepper had booked dinner at was beautiful. Tables of all sizes spread out before us, each one decorated to perfection with a bouquet of deep red roses, the vase encircled with ivy that produced a similar look to that of my balcony. Small tea lights cast a warm glow across the shining silver cutlery, bouncing off the crystal glasses in intricate patterns. We were greeted by a small woman, jet black hair framing her face which was carefully painted with a sharp winged liner and a red lip. She showed us to our table, handing over the menus with a wide smile, taking our drinks order before disappearing across the room.

It felt like mere moments before she returned, a tray of drinks in her hand that she shared out between us. Pepper quickly claimed her glass of wine before either of us could sneak in there and grab it, leaving Maddie with her cola and I with my orange juice.

The menu. Now that was a whole other matter entirely. I was fighting the urge to drool as I perused the options, eventually settling on the grilled lamb. Pepper opted for the grilled fillet of Turbot and black truffle, whatever the hell all of that was, and Maddie chose to order the grilled scallops. Each of us were more than excited for our food to arrive, sipping at our drinks and falling into comfortable conversation.

I found my mind drifting, away from the quiet decadence of the restaurant and the company of my best friend and - essentially - my sister. As always, I found my mind wandering towards its usual haunts; Peter Parker, the Stark Internship and the all the things I knew were being hidden from me. It had passed frustrating now, leaving me void of anger and feeling just a little dejected. It was starting to get tiring, chasing after answers that were always just out of my reach. Having to spend day after day smiling at the people who I knew were lying to me and pretending it was okay. It was Tony that bothered me the most. He never lied to me. Even when I was 6 years old he had recounted his tortuous experience in Afghanistan; not hesitating when he revealed that he was Iron man. Perhaps it was because I didn't have the means to act on my knowledge back then. I knew it worried him, my curiosity and my need for answers, and perhaps that was why he had started keeping things from me. But I hated it. It didn't feel right and it felt like he was lying to my face, deceiving me in a way that he promised he never would.

"Pepper..." My voice was quiet, but loud enough to carry across the table to its intended recipient.

"Hm?" She hummed in response, glancing up from her plate with a mouth full of food.

"Do you think Tony's been acting weird lately? Not in general, I mean with me... towards me?" She paused, seeming to think over the question for a few moments before taking a sip of her wine.

"I don't think so... he's just been a bit stressed recently you know. I don't think it's anything personal." I nodded silently, stabbing a stick of asparagus with my fork and taking a bite. "Don't stress about it okay, everything's fine."

I wish she was right, but there was something nagging at me that told me that in this case, she was wrong.

"Ew get off that's gross!" I wiggled my fingers at Maddie's face, managing to wipe a smudge of the gooey face mask on her cheek before she escaped.

"Okay okay. Do we want the Notebook; or The Breakfast Club." Maddie and I fell silent, pausing our face mask war to send Pepper equally incredulous looks.

"Did you actually just ask that question?" Maddie's hand rested on her hip, her attention distracted from the blob that had begun to run down her cheek.

"Geez, the Breakfast Club it is... I regret offering the choice." She busied herself sorting out the film as I hurried into my room, reclaimed my dressing gown and slippers and flopping onto the sofa.

"There is no choice. Always the Breakfast Club." I received a hum of agreement from Maddie, who had sprawled out across the adjacent sofa, her hand buried in the bowl of popcorn on the floor beside her.

Movie nights with Pepper and Maddie had become a regular thing around 2 years ago, when I'd decided we needed more girl time, and that Pepper needed more time away from the stresses or work. They'd turned out to be one of my favourite ways to spend a cold evening, or lazy weekend, and it turned out, movie nights in Paris were just as good as at home. The one rule we had was no phones, so mine had been banished to the bedroom, where we couldn't be interrupted by Peter, as usual. He'd gotten used to this rule fairly quickly, most of the time managing to refrain from texting me until I let him know we were done. Though more often than not I would return to a few missed messages.

Despite the wonderful attempt at a distraction, I couldn't stop thinking about everything, all the worries and concerns, unanswered questions and secrets that were bouncing around in my brain. Unfortunately, it looked as though movie night was about to be briefly interrupted.

"I overheard Tony and Peter talking, that first day he came over to hang out..." Both sets of eyes turned to look at me, surprised by my sudden announcement. Of course, Maddie already knew about this conversation, so knew exactly where I was going with this. Pepper on the other hand, was sporting a look of confusion.

"Oh? What did you hear?" There was a glint of understanding behind her eyes that I couldn't quite place, and it did nothing but make me more suspicious.

"Tony told Peter to stay away from me. Like, really told him. But it wasn't in a protective big brother way, we both know that isn't Tony. It was different... he seemed really worried..." She rolled onto her side on the sofa, chewing at her bottom lip as she rested her head in her hand.

"It's just Tony being Tony. You're his little sister, he's supposed to try and scare boys away." I shook my head, not accepting this as an answer. This wasn't Tony being protective this was something else. Maddie chimed in with her thoughts before I had a chance to respond.

"Come on Pepper, when has Tony ever acted like that? Remember Alfie Reardon? Els was literally declaring her love for him and Tony didn't bat an eye." I scrunched my nose at the memory and Pepper simply raised a brow.

"Alfie Reardon was 7 years old and wasn't spending alone time with Els in her bedroom..." I groaned, dropping my head back into the cushions and pressing my palms into my eyes.

"God Pepper! Me and Peter are just hanging out, we're not doing anything! We're 15!" How many times did I have to tell people that nothing was going on before they stopped hassling me about it?

"And what do you imagine Tony was like at 15 hm? I'm sure you can understand his concerns."

"A big fat nerd who wasn't hot enough to get any girls to like him?" Of course, Maddie's description of my brother at 15 was likely to be completely inaccurate, but that didn't bother me. What did bother me was how we were veering off topic.

"Yeah sure... lets go with that..." Pepper shrugged as she responded, taking a sip from her glass of wine. I pushed myself up to sit, folding my legs under me.

"This is different, Pepper... I know it. They're hiding something from me, both of them. They were literally talking about how I would never find out the truth." I squashed my frustration, realising that getting worked up over this right now wasn't going to be any use.

"Clearly neither of them know you that well then..." Pepper's response was no more than a quiet mutter, but it had been clear enough for both of us to hear.

"Pepper Potts... you know what it is, don't you?" She remained unresponsive to Maddie's query, glancing between the two of us with concern in her eyes, clearly turning over in her head what the best response would be. Eventually she sighed, brushing her hair back out of her face and turning her attention fully to me.

"I do... And Els you deserve to know the truth. But it isn't for me to tell you, and it certainly isn't for Tony to police. This is Peter's secret to share and he'll do that if and when he's ready." I nodded silently. It wasn't an answer to my questions but at least I wasn't crazy. There was a secret, and now I was more determined than ever to find out what it was.

"I just hate the way everyone acts like I need constant shielding. I'm not an idiot I can take care of myself."

"I know that; Tony knows that... everyone knows. And I think that's what scares them. You've always been too curious for your own good, and when you pair that with how brave you are... I think it's totally understandable why they'd want to keep you away from the fight. You're the kind of girl to run in headfirst to protect the people she loves. No one wants to be the person who puts you in that situation."

"Why is being brave such a bad thing?" Yes she was right. I would run straight into the thick of things if it meant protecting someone I loved, but so would everyone else. They would do it for me and they would do it for each other. So why not me?

"It's not, it's amazing. You are an amazing person Elizabeth. But you can't blame Tony for wanting to keep you safe." I suppose I couldn't. I would do the same for him. But it didn't make it any less frustrating.

"He isn't this protective over you..."

"Yeah well that's because I'd rather stay safe and sound, far away from the fight. The battlefield is not where I belong and I am painfully aware of that." It wasn't where I belonged either. At least I didn't think it was. but how was I supposed to know if no one gave me the chance to find out.

"I'm not sure where I belong."

"I feel that." Maddie groaned dramatically, stuffing another handful of popcorn into her mouth with a sigh, earning a quiet laugh from Pepper and I.

"You'll figure it out. You always do. But for now... I have a very important question to ask." I straightened in my seat, nodding with a smile.

"Shoot." She rolled onto her stomach, a wicked grin on her lips as she rested her chin in her hands.

"When are you are Peter going to stop lying to yourselves and admit you like each other?" My hand immediately shot to the cushion beside me, clutching it tight before launching it across the room where it ricocheted off Pepper's head, sending her hair sweeping over her face.

"I second that, I'm getting bored of the incredible sexual tension between you two." I reached beside me for another pillow, releasing my grip on it as Maddie hurriedly shouted her apologies.

"First of all, Madelyn... Ew. And second, Jesus Pepper! How many times do I have to literally scream that we're just friends?" Unfortunately she wasn't buying it, folding her arms over her chest in determination, her lips forming a thin line as she shook her head in strong disagreement.

"Nu-uh. I'm not blind, I've seen you two together. That is not 'just friends'." I fiddled with my ring, twisting it around my finger out of habit as I offered her a sheepish smile.

"We're... best friends...?" Maddie scoffed, flicking her hair over her shoulder and turning her attention back to the TV.

"Rude but okay." I rolled my eyes at her comment, snorting out a laugh.

"You're also my best friend, don't be stupid." My answer didn't seem to sate her as she simply shrugged, grabbing another handful of popcorn, suddenly intently interested in the movie.

"You know what they say... best friends make the best couples." I hopped up from the chair, sliding my feet into my slippers and heading for my room.

"I refuse to sit here and be harassed for my choice in friends." I waved over my shoulder as Pepper laughed, slipping into my room with the intent of finding a certain item. My phone.

I was initially planning on staying in my room out of protest, but quickly realised that I would much rather be out on the sofa watching the breakfast club, so I slipped my phone into my pocket and returned to my earlier position, greeted by a bag of chocolate buttons that were launched in my direction, bouncing off my head before landing in my lap.

The Breakfast Club had long finished, though instead of going to sleep, we'd opted to continue with the movie marathon, the notebook being the current movie that was playing. Maddie had started to snooze and Pepper had disappeared to make us all hot chocolates, which meant I had some peace and quiet to myself for a few minutes.

Of course, after reclaiming my phone I had immediately text Peter. I wasn't even sure why I did it any more, it had become somewhat of an automatic reaction. It didn't matter where I was, or what I was doing, I wanted him to be there with me, if not physically then via text would have to do. I wasn't sure when that had happened, but it had, and it was unsettling to say the least. There were very few people who I held in such high regard, the main four obviously being Tony, Pepper, Maddie and Steve. Of course I trusted a lot of people, but those were the four that I'd always run to. Well... now it was five.

For someone who was notoriously untrusting, I'd found it easy to open up to Peter, his positive attitude and warming smile having a way of breaking down my walls like nothing else. It was still hard to believe we'd only known each other for a few months, given how close we now were, but I suppose that said something about our friendship. It was certainly one that was going to last.

I'd slipped out to the balcony to snap a quick picture of the view at night, hurrying back in as the cold night air froze my toes. The sofa and blanket offered a warm welcome as I sunk back into the comfort, allowing myself a quiet laugh at the way Maddie had begun to drift off, one hand hanging off the sofa into the popcorn bowl. That girl and her popcorn.

I send the picture over to Peter, captioning it with:

 _Tell me this isn't the prettiest thing you've ever seen._

His response was quick as usual.

 _I've seen prettier..._

I found that hard to believe, frowning at my phone as I typed my response.

 _I highly doubt that. But it's much more beautiful in person. You'll have to come here and see it for yourself someday._

Pepper had returned to the room at this point, gently nudging Maddie back into consciousness in order to hand her the hot chocolate she was balancing against the two other mugs. She took it with a happy sigh, taking a long sip and closing her eyes as she muttered about 'hot chocolate perfection'. I offered a quiet thanks as Pepper handed me my mug, letting it warm my hands, taking in the rich warm smell of chocolate as she crossed back over to her previous spot on the adjacent sofa.

If there was one thing Pepper Pots was insanely good at, it was making hot chocolate. I don't know what she put in it or how she did it, but it was, to this day, the best hot chocolate I had ever had. I took a sip, enjoying the creamy richness of the drink, a hint of peppermint just touching it.

My phone buzzed from somewhere, buried beneath the blankets where I had let it fall whilst I'd been preoccupied with my drink. I rummaged around, my hand finally finding a corner of the device and pulling it from its hiding place. I held my finger over the button, unlocking the screen and revealing the message I had just receieved.

 _Eh... I don't know why I'd bother flying three and a half thousand miles to see something beautiful when I could just hang out with you instead :)_

I stared at the screen for what felt like a lifetime, reading each of the words individually before reading the entire sentence at least another five times. It wasn't much out of the ordinary. We complimented each other all the time like this, it was normal and something I didn't normally pay much mind to due to the usually sarcastic nature. However this time it was different, because it was not quickly followed by an insult or declaration of the joke. This time it wasn't ordinary and normal and it wasn't because it was overly different from our norm; it wasn't that special. This time it was me that made it different. Because reading that message had send a total wave of realisation rushing over me.

"You're right." I wasn't sure if I had meant to say it out loud, or if I had wanted to. But I had, and there was no taking that back.

"What?" - "Hm?" Pepper and Maddie responded simultaneously, both turning their attention to me, as I continued to stare at my phone in disbelief. I took a breath, dropping my phone into my lap and turning to look at them.

"Oh my god you're literally all right..." My company shared a confused glance with each other before Pepper sat up, looking at me with a slightly worried but mostly curious expression.

"Right about what sweetie? What are you talking about?" I bit my bottom lip, my eyes wide as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"I like him. I like Peter." Their concern very quickly dissipated, wide grins on both of their faces as they witnessed my sudden realisation.

"Well thank the Lord for that. It's about time." Maddie praised, flinging her hands into the air in celebration. Pepper laughed, hopping up from her seat and crossing the room, dropping into the seat beside me and clutching my hand in hers.

"So, what are you gonna do?" She watched me excitedly as I turned over the option in my head.

"Jesus, I don't know. Do I need to do something?!" I didn't want to do something, did I? Maybe I did. But I couldn't. Could I?

"Well you sure as hell need to tell him!" Pepper stated it as though it were the simplest and most obvious thing in the world. She was wrong.

"How do I do that?"

"Literally just tell him that you're in love with him and want to have adorable babies together..." Maddie shrugged, taking another sip of her hot chocolate and turning her attention back to the TV, her expression completely blasé. I turned to Pepper, rolling my eyes at Maddie's comment, my face pleading for her to help me. She offered me a small smile, patting me on the shoulder.

"I wouldn't word it like that."

"There is absolutely no danger of that happening." That was very true, I would never utter those words. A part of me worried that I would never utter any words. I glanced at my phone, knowing that I needed to respond with something, I'd taken too long already. But what did I write to the boy who had just told me I was beautiful and I had just realised I had an enormous crush on. Give me aliens and gunfights any day, I'd gladly take that over this.

I checked my watch; 5am. Yes it was ridiculously early and any sane person would still be tucked up in bed right now, off in dreamland. But not me. I was rummaging through the wardrobe of my hotel room, digging out a chunky knitted jumper, a slightly worse for wear looking pair of ripped blue skinny jeans, and a random tank top. I slipped the clothes on in record time, pulling my hair back into a low ponytail, the loose curls falling down my back as shorter wisps framed my face and ears.

I reached to the bottom of the wardrobe, grabbing my favourite pair of black buckle accented boots and slipping my feet in. It looked a bit chilly outside and I was going for comfort over fashion this morning. I didn't need to look overly nice for my plans.

My bedroom door closed quietly behind me and I remained light on my feet as I crossed toward the front door, scooping up my handbag and phone on the way. Thankfully, Pepper and Maddie were both fairly heavy sleepers, so I had no fear of waking them as I left the hotel behind and began to make my way through the silent streets of Paris.

The early morning air was cool and I found myself thankful that I'd gone for one of my chunkier knitted jumpers, and layered a tank top underneath it, helping to fend off the chill just a little. I'd always enjoyed being up early, relishing in the quiet and peace of empty streets, something that was a little hard to come by living in Manhattan.

A small puff of condensation left my mouth as I breathed, the slowly rising sunshine not yet warming the air. I took a left turn down a small alleyway, leaving the main road behind as I followed the route to my destination. Cobblestones clicked under my boots, echoing off the tall stone walls of the buildings that reached high either side of me. The beginnings of the morning sun crept through gaps in the balconies, lighting patches of the stone walls a golden orange and providing the ivies and flowers much needed warmth. It was beautiful, to say the least. A creeping thought uttered that perhaps I would like it if Peter were here with me, but I quickly squashed that down, reminding myself that this morning wasn't about Peter. It was about someone else equally as important.

I hadn't text him this morning like usual, but I reasoned that it didn't really matter yet as he'd still be asleep. Admittedly, I hadn't handled my shocking revelation very well the previous night, responding with a text telling him flattery would get him nowhere before quickly dismissing myself to go to bed. If my bluntness had been obvious, he hadn't made it known, sending his usual chipper words of goodnight. I'd felt bad, of course, even though there was probably no reason to be. But now I was at a bit of a loss. I'd never been in this situation before, most likely because firstly, I'd never really had many male friends so falling for a friend was never an option; and I'd never had an interest in dating, until now apparently. I'd always been so focused on family, work, and all the crazy alien crap threatening our lives that it had never ever occurred to me that I would show an interest in a boy. It was all new to me and it was unsettling to say the least.

I reached the far end of the alley, greeted by a quaint café tucked away to the left, patterned metal chairs and tables decorated with flowers offering a welcome splash of colour. I couldn't think of a better place for this meeting, a welcoming and warm aura surrounding the place. A bell above the door gave a quiet jingle as I pushed it open, stepping inside and scanning the room for the person I was meeting.

It wasn't hard to spot him, given that, due to the early hour, the café was still empty bar the tall blonde haired man who occupied a table buy the window, his toe tapping rhythmically against the floor, halting immediately as he spotted me. A grin stretched across his lips as he stood, tucking his hands into his pockets and sending me a small nod.

"Morning Betty."

"Steve." I offered no more than his quiet name on my breath as I crossed the room, throwing my arms around his waist and resting my head against his chest. His arms quickly moved from his pockets to my back, embracing me in a tight hug before releasing, and moving back to his seat.

A small blonde waitress was quickly at our table, taking our orders with a smile as she jotted them down on her notepad. A coffee for Steve, and a tea for me. Our usual.

"My god Steve it is so good to see you." I dropped into the seat opposite him, resting my hands on the table and breathing a sigh.

"Tell me about it kid. I was starting to think I'd have to kidnap you to get a minute alone" He laughed as I nodded in agreement. It was beginning to feel that way, and it showed by the fact that I was having to sneak out at 5am in Paris just to get a coffee and have a catch up.

"Anyway, how have you been?" I nodded with a shrug. That was a good question, one that didn't ever really have a definitive answer.

"I've been good, you know... muddling through. You?" The look in his eyes told me he understood completely.

"Yeah I've been alright. I'm here with you now so things are looking up." He always knew how to make me smile. God I'd missed him.

I'd got so used to having Steve around over the last few years and he'd become somewhat like a second big brother to me. It was amazing, having another person to call family, who looked out for me, understood me and wasn't afraid to tell me what I needed to hear. It was great. Until Sokovia, then the accords, and Vienna. That's when everything was ruined. I didn't blame my brother for being stubborn and I didn't blame Steve for being loyal, which is what made it even more impossible to come to terms with everything that had happened. It never should have gone down the way it did in Germany but there was no changing that now. I could only hope that someday we could move forward from it and I could have my family back.

"Good... and Bucky? What's going on there?" He sighed, keeping his gaze locked on mine as I did the same.

"He's fine. He's getting better. Most importantly he's safe." Good. That was enough to settle my worries, even allowing a small smile to grace my lips.

"And you're still not going to tell me where he is?" I asked the same question I'd asked what felt like a million times.

"You know the answer to that." He was right, I did. But that didn't change the fact it still irritated me. I didn't like not knowing, especially when it came to people I cared about.

"Don't you trust me, Steve?" Perhaps the guilt trip card might work. I doubted it but it was worth a try. He simply laughed, raising a brow with a small shake of his head.

"Oh I trust you Betty... I just don't trust your brother." He could say it all he liked, he could scream it from the rooftops. That didn't make it the truth.

"That's a lie and you know it." He didn't reply verbally, silently taking a sip of his coffee as he peered at me over the mug, the quirk of his lips telling me that I was right and he knew it.

"How is he? Tony?" That was a good sign, actually asking about my brother's wellbeing, not that Steve had ever stopped caring.

"He's really good, actually. He struggles sometimes, but he's hanging in there." It was true, he was doing great. We all had our problems to deal with, and we all had bad days, but in proportion to what a bad day had often constituted for Tony, things were amazing.

"Him and Pepper are going good, really good in fact. I'm glad she came back, he was lost without her."

"I'm glad to here that," I quirked an incredulous brow and he rolled his eyes. "Honestly, I am really glad."

He paused, placing his cup down in front of him and allowing his eyes to scan over me, from my fingers that clutched my cup to the small but friendly smile on my lips.

"I'm so sorry... for everything that happened. Everything I did." I shook my head with a breath of a laugh.

"Really, don't be. Yeah everyone went about things the completely wrong way and you are all idiots, but I wil never criticise you for what you did for Buck, or for the decisions Tony made. I understand." He seemed to think over my words for a few seconds before responding.

"Can I ask you something that's always bothered me?"

"Of course."

"Why did you forgive him? Bucky, I mean. There wasn't an ounce of anger when you found out what he did, and you immediately forgave him. He murdered your parents, I find it hard to believe you don't hate him just a little."

"I don't hate him, and I never will. And of course it upsets me, I do have a heart." I frowned at the sceptical look he gave me at that, narrowing my eyes in a way that told him this wasn't a time for jokes. "Look... We've all done terrible things Steve, but if anyone deserves to be forgiven it's him. I know better than most what HYDRA are capable of. I could never blame Bucky for being a victim of their hand, so he wont be held accountable for my parent's deaths."

"Are you sure you're 15? You seem far too wise." I grinned, folding my arms over my chest and cocking my head.

"Almost 16, and so I've been told." His frown didn't quite hold the strength it could have, the small upturn of his lips showing his amusement.

"Don't remind me, you're not allowed to grow up... I'm glad you called, I've missed you." That was something I could relate to.

"I've missed you too." I reached across the table, slipping my hand into his and giving his fingers a quick squeeze.

"You should probably get going, before Pepper and Maddie wake up and notice you're gone. I wouldnt want them to worry." I glanced at my watch which was showing that the time was now 7:30am. How time flies when you're having fun... or when you have a limited amount in this case.

"Yeah," I sighed, "You're probably right."

I scraped my chair back, getting to my feet and grabbing my bag, slipping the handle over my shoulder. Steve followed suit, rising to stand opposite me with a slightly stiff smile, a sadness in his eyes. He'd quickly pulled me towards him, holding me in a tight hug for a little longer than was probably deemed normal, but I didn't mind. If I had it my way, he would never let go. But he had to, so he did.

"Will you ever come home?" He brushed my hair behind my ear, taking a deep breath and forcing a tight smile.

"I hope so kid."

I offered a quiet goodbye, turning on my heel and heading back towards the door, pausing as my hand touched the handle and turning back.

"He still loves you, you know. Tony." He didn't offer a response more than a quick nod and a quirk of a smile. With that, I turned and left.

I buzzed my keycard against the scanner, swinging the hotel room door open and slipping through. Honestly, I'm not sure if I was expecting to arrive back undisturbed, but it was never something that was going to happen.

"Where have you been?" I was immediately accosted by Maddie, still clad in pyjamas as she eyed me warily, scanning my outfit top to bottom with narrowed eyes.

I raised my right hand, revealing the small brown bag of pastries I had picked up on the way here as a cover for my whereabouts, quickly followed by the cup holder in my left hand that sported three large coffees.

My plan worked as intended, my early morning disappearance quickly forgotten as the bag and drinks were swiped from my hands at lightening speed.

"I woke up early and fancied a walk, Paris is really pretty at sunrise," I followed Maddie to the kitchen, where she had begun dispensing the pastries onto a plate. "I found this cute little cafe and thought I'd grab us some breakfast."

We were quickly joined by a sleepy looking Pepper, approaching us with a yawn, wrapped in the same white dressing gown and slippers as had been provided in my room.

"Oh my goodness give me." She slipped between the two of us, claiming a coffee with a tired smile and taking a long sip, a sigh of pleasure on her breath.

We spent a few moments in silence, sipping at our respective coffees with intermittent breaks to take a bite of a croissant, each of us thoroughly enjoying the impromptu breakfast.

"So, what's the plan for our final day in Paris? We fly out at 7pm right? So we've got a whole day free." Pepper shrugged, just managing to catch the croissant crumbs that were struggling to remain safely in her mouth. Maddie, however, was leaning against the kitchen counter sending me a look that could only mean one thing.

"Well... first of all I think we need to address your little announcement last night." I gritted my teeth, humming out loud as I considered the option.

"Oooor... we could not do that?" Thankfully, Pepper interjected at this point and rescued me from having to deal with my emotions this early in the morning.

"How about some good old fashioned, tourist sight seeing? Le Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Arch de Triumph... the classics." Well, I suppose whilst we were here it made sense, and I'd never seen any of those things before other than on TV. As long as Maddie kept her mouth shut it might end up being a lovely day.

"That sounds marvellous, I'm gonna go get ready!" I grabbed my coffee, turning on my heel and rushing off towards my bedroom, unable to miss Maddie's comment as she called out after me.

"You can't escape me on the plane home! Seven hours of my questioning! Get ready!" The prospect of seven hours questioning about my emotions, in an enclosed space, with Madelyn Hogan actually made me feel quite sick. I found myself considering the idea of jumping off the Eiffel Tower just to avoid it, though I'm sure she would jump alongside me and spend the afterlife questioning me instead. There was no escaping Maddie when she wanted answers.

Our sightseeing, which had quickly become shopping, had done an amazing job of distracting me from my worries. I'd also been helped by the fact Pepper had put my phone on mute, and in her bag, removing any possibility of my main stressor contacting me.

It wasn't fair and I knew that, I couldn't ignore Peter forever and I didn't want to... but just for today wouldn't do any harm. Ignoring the situation however, did not help me prepare for when I got home, and on that first evening back I would be forced to suppress my anxieties and enjoy the long awaited movie night that Peter would most certainly not let me weasel out of.

We'd been on the plane for about 30 minutes now, and immediately upon boarding I had stuck in my headphones, pulled out the white fluffy dressing gown identical to the ones in the hotel - which I had discovered where to buy from the reception, and immediately headed there card at the ready - and settled in to my seat in a warm fluffy bundle. Thankfully, Madelyn had taken this as a do not disturb sign, and had occupied herself in other ways than irritating me. At least, she had until now.

I sighed as she cross the aisle, dropping into the seat beside me and gesturing for me to remove my headphones.

"Please don't do this now I just can't be bothered I-" She cut me off with a silent nod, tugging some of my dressing gown over onto her legs and resting her elbows against the arm rest.

"I'm not going to quiz you, force you to tell me anything you don't want to, or hassle you about your decisions..." I raised a curious brow at her words, wondering just where the inquisitive and determined Maddie had gone. "As much as I really really want to." There she was.

"Are you just going to physically torture me into telling you instead or... I don't understand." I shrugged innocently at her frown, because honestly it wasn't such a ridiculous situation to consider.

"I know this is hard for you okay... I'm not going to pretend I know everything about your life growing up, but I think I have a pretty good idea and so I know how hard it is for you to trust people. If anyone understands that, it's me. I mean come on, you know about my mom and the permanent psychological damage she did to me, it's no surprise I'm a sarcastic bitch with trust issues." She was right, she didn't know everything and hopefully she never would. But neither did I, and honestly I was probably just as in the dark about my childhood as she was, but I did know that she understood. So I didn't complain, or tell her to leave me alone, instead deciding to give her a chance to speak.

"Where are you going with this?"

"I guess I'm just saying that it's okay, to not trust your instincts or your heart because sometimes they're wrong. But it's also okay to take a leap of faith. Yeah, you might end up on your face but you also might not."

I understood what she was saying, but that didn't make it any easier to take her advice. I'd never struggled to pick up on my instincts but that didn't mean I trusted them. I'd let many an opportunity pass me by out of fear of failure or pain.

"What does that have to do with Peter?" She dropped her head to rest against the back of the chair, breathing a sigh as her hand came to rest atop mine.

"You don't see it but I do. You've always been scared to take risks, to follow your heart and see where it leads you but I think you're ready to face that now... to get past that fear. Peter is your leap of faith." I attempted to digest her words as she draped my dressing gown back over my legs, hopping up from the seat and pressing a quick kiss onto my cheek. "I'm going to get some sleep, you should too."

She was right, I needed to get some sleep. But thanks to her unexpected words of wisdom, I didn't see that happening any time soon.

—

There you have it, Paris has come to an end. I know these two chapters have been slightly filler, not a lot in terms of bit plot lines going on, but it's important to me that I show the more mundane parts of Els life. I don't want to be throwing the entire plot out there at once. But trust me, Els' story doesn't just revolve around Peter, she has who own issues and troubles which will be coming to light real soon...

Stay tuned.

\- Amelie


	10. Bad Dreams

_The room was dark around me, a cold breeze chilling my bones as I lay on the unforgivingly solid metal table. My muscles groaned and ached as I made a feeble attempt to move, eager to assess my surroundings properly. My eyes darted around the space, unable to discern any helpful details of my location, the shadows successfully concealing the edges of the room in an ominous shade. I wasn't sure how long I'd been there, but something about the situation felt familiar. That distinctly clean surgical smell of hospital rooms filled my senses, realisation coming to me in flashes as I began to decipher where I was being held. The room was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, and my brain was working in overdrive to place how I knew it. It felt like a hospital... or a cell? My fears were confirmed with a shrill creak as the large metal doors across from me swung open, revealing the face that had haunted my dreams for months now. The doctor, a stranger I recognised as though I'd known him all my life. My heart began to race as he approached me, a sly smirk stretching maliciously across his face, prompting my tired muscles into life as I fought against my restraints._

" _No, no, no, no…" my hoarse voice repeated the word as he came to a stop beside me, resting a cold hand against my arm as I blinked back tears, a lump forming in my throat._

" _No this can't be real, you're not real, this isn't real," I attempted to calm myself with my unconvincing words, wincing as his low chuckle echoed off the shadowed walls._

" _I can assure you my dear, this is very real," His tone was dark and mischievous, sending a chill through to my already shivering bones. "You'll never escape me child. Did you think you would win? Honestly, darling, why are you fighting against the cause that created you?" I shook my head at his words, squeezing my eyes shut tight as I attempted to block out his menacing laugh, which grew louder the more I struggled. I continued to plead in vain, my voice straining as I yelled for him to stop, screaming for help I knew would never come. I continued to scream as I felt a sharp pain in my arm, opening my eyes to see the syringe filled with a sinister dark liquid puncturing my skin. The world around me began to spin as his laughter grew louder, blocking out all other noise around me as I sunk into a darkness, my screams growing silent as my throat protested…_

"Els! Els, Elizabeth…" A familiar voice called my name, a tight grip on my arms pinning me down as I struggled in their grasp. I had found my voice, my screams once again audible as I thrashed against my captor. My eyes flicked open, closing quickly as they struggled to accustom to the light. I blinked a few times, slowly adjusting to the bright room as I began to assess my surroundings. The large window to my left and the soft sheets that were thrown haphazardly across the floor told me that I was no longer in that dark and terrifying place.

"Els, it was a dream, you're okay it was just a dream…" The voice repeated this soothing mantra to me as my heart rate began to slow, my breath becoming even as I realised I was safe. A weak sob escaped my lips as I felt the sting of tears in my eyes, allowing my brother to envelop me into a warm embrace. I was safe, I had escaped and I was safe.

"It was the same as last time Tony, he had me, I was back there…" I continued to cry as I wrapped my arms tightly around my torso, scared that I might fall apart if it let go. I allowed myself to be soothed by the reassuring words whispered into my hair, the tension slowly leaving my body as I relaxed into his arms. I weakly obliged as he instructed me to lay back down, the stars and moon that filled the dark sky informing me it was still night time. Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I rested my head on the soft pillow as I felt my duvet being draped over my shivering body. The bed dipped as he climbed in beside me, pulling me into his chest and wrapping a protective arm around my shoulders.

"Don't worry kid, you're not going anywhere and neither am I," He mumbled as I curled up beside him, "It was just a dream, no one's gonna hurt you." I sighed as I rested my head on his chest, the steady beat of his heart lulling my exhausted mind back into a deep and thankfully dreamless sleep.

One week later...

The sunlight filtered softly through the tall windows, its early morning rays stretching throughout the room, dancing across the bed as the curtains swayed in the light breeze that blew through the space. I blinked a few times, attempting to adjust to the light upon waking, my eyes forced closed as a ray of light passed over them. I breathed a sigh as I relaxed back into my pillow and appreciated the quiet peacefulness I felt in that moment. My eyes had just flickered to a close again as my serenity was shattered by a shrill ringing that filled the air, my hands flying up to cover ears in a feeble attempt to protect them from the blaring alarm. Throwing my sheets aside with a groan, I dragged myself from the comfort of my bed and rammed my feet into my slippers before hurrying to the door, keen to discover the source of the noise. I reached the door to the kitchen quickly, the details of the situation becoming apparent immediately upon throwing the door open only to be greeted by a looming cloud of black smoke. I struggled to suppress a laugh at the scene before me, which consisted of my hapless brother, a dish cloth being flapped around frantically and a pan of cremated strips that I could only assume had once been bacon. I offered a sympathetic smile, which was probably more of a grimace, as I met his eye, a tired frown and the dark circles under his eyes betraying his exhaustion.

"What the hell are you doing Tony?" I grabbed a spare dish cloth to assist in flapping away the majority of the smoke. "Friday there is no fire turn the goddamn alarm off!"

"Immediately Miss Stark." The AI replied simply, the intrusive blaring of the alarm suddenly cutting out, leaving a quiet ringing in our ears.

"What the hell does it look like I'm doing Els? I'm making breakfast." He gestured dramatically to the oven, his dish cloth quickly thrown onto the counter as I moved to clear up the mess he'd made. I prodded at the the blackened strips which barely resembled bacon before grabbing the pan and scraping its contents into the bin.

"Uh.. of course, the breakfast looks… delicious." I didn't even need to look to know he was rolling his eyes at my back. "Have you slept…?" I queried, quietly concerned about how drained he'd looked when I'd entered the room.

"I've been busy, lots of work to do." I glanced over my shoulder to see him drop his head into his hands as he sat on one of the bar stools along the counter. I sighed, finishing clearing away the spoilt food and grabbing what I needed to start the breakfast again.

"Well… at least it looks like you managed to fit in a quick nap whilst cooking that bacon…" I muttered under my breath, unfortunately not quiet enough to avoid Tony's ears which I realised as his previously discarded cloth soared across the room and into the back of my head. My attempted frown was ruined by the smile that fought through my facade. "You know you're supposed to stop cooking food once it's black right?" I explained in my most patronising tone of voice.

"What I lack in common sense I make up for in sarcasm." I rolled my eyes, leaning my hip against the counter as the new batch of bacon began to sizzle.

"Really? I honestly hadn't noticed that." An obviously fake mask of surprise plastered my face, along with a hint of a smile as I crossed my arms across my chest and cocked my head to the side.

"Looks like you inherited that sarcasm trait too."

"Yes, but luckily for us I was also blessed with the common sense part." I laughed as he feigned hurt, clutching his hand to his chest with a gasp before releasing an honest and uninhibited laugh.

"I would make some kind of witty retort but I'd probably be dead without you so you win this time squirt." I smirked at his response, blowing a quick kiss across the room before turning my attention back to the pan. Silence fell between us leaving the quiet sizzling of the bacon as the only sound in the room.

"What about you… you been sleeping?" I tensed at the question, noticing the hesitance and concern behind his words, recalling the incident from the previous week. I considered lying for a moment, telling him I was fine and forgetting about it all. But that thought didn't last long as I remembered the details of the recurring bad dreams, wincing at the flashes of images still burned into my memory. I took my time plating up the breakfast and placing it in front of the seats on the counter, avoiding eye contact as I took the seat opposite.

"I had another dream last night…" I finally muttered, poking at the food on my plate before chancing a cautious glance at Tony, hoping to gauge his response. His face held a mixture of expressions, concern being at the forefront. This wasn't the first time I'd suffered a sleepless night, and both of us knew it. Tony had been trying and failing to hide his concerns since I started having the nightmares the very first time, around two months ago. I watched as he took a bite of his bacon, clearly attempting to formulate the correct response before opening his mouth.

"So… what happened? What did you see?" He spoke the one question I had been expecting, but wished he hadn't asked, anxious at the thought of replaying my dream again.

"Um… well it was just like, flashes… like it normally is. But it was different from the last one." I began, my food suddenly seeming extremely unappetising as I prepared to explain.

"Everything was very dark, there was a flash of silver… I think it was night time, but I'm not sure because there was only a tiny window" A lump caused my words to catch in my throat, the images of the dream flooding back into my mind, the familiar feeling of sadness and fear I'd felt during the dream returning to me. I met Tony's eyes as his attention was locked on me, eager to hear the events of my dream as he nodded in encouragement.

"I think I was trapped there, in this room on my own… but there was a man there that I couldn't see, but I knew he was there I could feel it. It was like he was a part of the darkness, like he was never really there. Then there was this sound..." I paused for a moment, a shiver running through my bones as the sound resonated in my head, a noise that felt both familiar and foreign at the same time. "I think… it was some kind of machinery. It was buzzing, and then there was a sound like metal tapping on metal. Then I woke up."

It was silent between us once again as I finished talking, a tense atmosphere weighing down the air around us. I had my theories about what it was, about what it meant, but I wasn't ready to voice that to Tony yet. Not until I knew for sure myself. The dream had sent a feeling of dread through me, yet at the same time, there was this intense need I felt pulling me deeper, I needed to know the truth.

"They're just dreams Els, you've got nothing to worry about." Tony smiled warily, obviously eager to put my worries, and also his own, at ease. But they didn't feel like dreams, and the rational part of my brain was telling me that they were, in fact, memories. "Now eat your bacon, it's delicious."

"That's because I cooked it," I smiled, taking a small bite of the meat and chewing slowly, forcing it down with a gulp of orange juice. "How's the work going…?"

"The work is great, and top secret." I rolled my eyes at his resistance to tell me what he was working on. Despite my attempts, I was yet to discover what he had been toiling away on in the workshop for the last few weeks, the passcode having been changed and proving very difficult to break.

"You better be making me my own suit and not telling me because you want it to be a surprise…" I smirked, secretly hopeful. Unfortunately I was met with a shaking head and loud laugh.

"You will get one of those suits over my dead body kid, give up on your dreams."

"Never! Someday Tony, I'll be taking one of those bad boys for a test flight." I shot him a wink, feeling much more lighthearted than our previous conversation had made me.

"I feel as though that would be more of a crash test than a test flight…"

"Honestly, you're probably right…" We shared a laugh as I scooped up both our plates and dropped them into the sink, deciding to clean them up later. I skipped back over to Tony, throwing my arms around his shoulders from behind as he sipped his coffee. I rested my chin on his head for a moment as I squeezed my arms around him.

"Love you Tony," I mumbled, "thanks for being the best big brother." He seemed caught off guard by my admission, placing his coffee down and swivelling on the chair before pulling me onto his lap in a warm and comforting hug.

"Love you too Els," he replied quietly, "and don't worry about your dreams, you're safe here." I nodded softly, reassured by his words. "Now can we stop being soppy and emotional, I have work to do and I'm sure you should be doing something with your life."

I laughed as I hopped off his lap, reaching the door in a few quick strides before turning back.

"You better get back to work on my suit," I added with a wink before slipping out of the door, allowing it to swing closed slowly behind me.

"When hell freezes over!" Tony's voice called out from the kitchen, eliciting a laugh as I continued down the hallway.

It had been a few hours since breakfast, and I'd found myself becoming more and more restless as the minutes ticked by. Madelyn was busy today, and honestly I could use the time away from her incessant need to ask about my life. It had become one part of my life in particular, and it had begun to drive me crazy. There were only so many times I could listen to her tell me I was a soppy idiot before I snapped and brutally murdered her, so avoiding her was probably in both our best interests right now.

Speaking of which, I'd managed to successfully avoid Peter since getting back from Paris, coming up with excuse after excuse to cancel or rearrange plans. At first he had been fine with it, if slightly disappointed. He wasted no time telling me how heartbroken he was that he would have to suffer even more days without seeing me, with the week in Paris being bad enough.

I felt awful, to say the least, and I wanted nothing more than to call him right now and tell him to come round. But I couldn't. Because that meant I'd have to work out what to say to him, and I could barely get through a simple text conversation without having a mental breakdown right now. Not that he was aware of that.

I tapped the toe of my slipper against the carpet, fingers hovering above my laptop keyboard where they had previously been writing up some findings and calculations for the satellite project, which had also been waylaid due to my pathetic emotional instability. My mind had wandered from my work a while ago, and if I didn't reign it in asap I worried I might just ring Peter and declare my feelings just to get it over with.

But I couldn't do that. Because I couldn't lose my best friend, and that's what would happen if I admitted to feelings that he could never reciprocate. Things would get awkward, we would both start avoiding each other and eventually we would go our separate ways. I couldn't let that happen. Pushing my chair away from the desk I stood up, closing my laptop and heading for the bedroom door. If nothing else could distract me from my own mind, then Tony would have to do.

I paused at the lounge door, leaning my ear towards the gap where it sat slightly ajar, just about able to hear my brother's lone voice. I peered through the gap quickly, noting that he was on the phone before I returned to my eavesdropping. I didn't know who he was talking to, but that was probably the least important thing on my mind as I heard his response to the caller.

" _But she's been having the dreams way more frequently... yeah... almost every night now."_ Well he was definitely talking about me, and I couldn't miss the anxious edge to his voice as he spoke.

" _Listen... no, no I don't care, I just need to know if she's safe. Hey... is she safe?"_ I stopped listening after that, a ringing in my ears drowning out the sound of his voice as he pressed the caller for an answer. It was a good question... was I safe? With my complete lack of knowledge on about 99% of things in my life, I would say no. I didn't feel safe anyway, not when I heard the worry in my brother's voice or the fact he was keeping secrets. As well as that, he sounded scared, and desperate. It felt like he didn't know what to do, like this was a situation he had never prepared himself for and that terrified me. Because he was my big brother, he protected me and he was always prepared for the worst so that I would be ok. But I didn't have that reassurance this time.

I sucked in a breath, reasoning that this wasn't why I had come to find him. I'd come to him looking for restbite from my worries, not more to add to the pile, which is the thought that pulled me back together. I swung the door open, forcing my lips into a small smile as he turned towards me.

"Hey Tony."

"Hey Kiddo, what's up?" I shrugged, slipping under his arm and wrapping mine around his waist.

"I'm bored, and I'm getting restless. Can we go do something? I know you're probably super busy but I ju-" He cut me off, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pulling me closer to his chest.

"Nope, my schedule's free for you El, what do you wanna do?" I knew it was probably just because he was currently worried about me, but I appreciated his complete lack of hesitance when deciding whether or not we could hang out. I pondered the question for a minute or two, considering what there actually was to do.

"How about the zoo?" He moved his hands to my shoulders, increasing the space between us and holding me at arms length.

"You wanna go to the zoo, we'll go to the zoo."

"Hey Tony," He hummed in response and I smiled a him over my shoulder, "Can I have a pet giraffe?"

"Yeah sure, we'll just house it in the workshop, I'll cut a hole in the ceiling to accommodate its neck." Despite his words dripping with sarcasm, I laughed, thanking him for his permission to purchase a wild animal. As always, I was treated to one of his famous eye rolls and a middle finger, followed by having my hair ruffled in a way that made me prone to hitting him.

"Come on you weirdo lets go get some food, I'm hungry." I agreed without hesitation as he breezed past me, taking a running jump onto his back and forcing him to carry me towards the Zoo's cafe.

We didn't waste time picking out our lunch, both of our stomach's rumbling now that it was almost 3pm and neither of us had eaten since breakfast early this morning. I'd just taken a bite of my sandwich when my phone buzzed on the table beside my plate. I sighed, ignoring the buzz and continuing to eat instead. Unfortunately, it looked as though I wouldnt be able to ignore the messages much longer, as it buzzed again. And again, and again.

"Okay, what's going on?" I glanced up from my food innocently, giving my brother a questioning look, despite knowing exactly what he was referring to.

"Don't give me that look. I know exactly who that is texting you and I also know that you've been ignoring his messages all day." I opened my mouth to reply but didn't get a chance as he continued. "Actually... Come to think of it I haven't seen that kid in days, weeks even. What did he do?"

I narrowed my eyes, placing my sandwich back on the plate and folding my arms over my chest defensively.

"I don't have to hang out with him every single day Tony. I don't even hang out with Maddie every single day." He grabbed a potato chip and launched it at me, frowning at my response.

"Don't have that attitude with me Elizabeth, and I am aware that you don't have to hang out with him every day. However, you've _never_ hung out with Maddie daily, whereas Peter used to be lurking around our house every time I turned a corner. That is until Paris." _Dammit Tony, why couldn't you just leave well enough alone for once._ "Before Paris you were together constantly, but since you've got back I haven't seen him once."

"I thought you didn't want us hanging out anyway. Surely this is exactly what you wanted?" I couldn't help how defensive I was feeling right now, and I think it was justified. Only a month or so ago Tony was telling Peter to stay away from me, that we couldn't be friends. Now here he was, arguing the polar opposite.

"Yeah well maybe I changed my mind." I could see this conversation moving towards becoming a confrontation, Tony's voice slightly raised in defence of my comments.

"Why?" I wasn't necessarily angry, just frustrated, but my jaw was clenched as I waited for his response.

"Because I can see how happy he makes you." I released a breath, instantly regretting my annoyance as he shook his head at me.

"He's a good kid Els, and I don't know what he's done to deserve your ghosting but I'm sure it's fixable. Don't pretend you don't love spending time with him because I've seen the two of you together and I've never seen you happier. Whatever grudge you're holding, let it go, because it's not worth losing what you two have."

He was right and I knew it. I'd always known it but I'd just pushed it down further and further until it couldn't bother me anymore. It was ridiculous honestly, in realising that I had feelings for him I'd pushed him away, the complete opposite of what I really wanted. I'd always known that I'd have to deal with it sooner or later, and now it looked as though it was going to be sooner.

I dropped my head into my hands, combing my fingers through my hair before glancing back up at my brother, who had continued to watch me with curiosity as I digested his words. Sighing, I grabbed my phone and scraped my chair backwards before standing.

"I'll be right back... I gotta make a call." Tony nodded in response, waving me away and returning to his lunch as I slipped out of the door, rounding the building to a quiet spot away from the crowds.

I paused momentarily as my finger hovered over the call button, attempting to formulate what I was going to say before I called. Unfortunately, my mind had come up blank, and so I was going in blind. I pressed call, raising the phone to my ear and listening to the repetitive ringing, which felt as though it was getting louder with each ring. Despite the fact I was only doing something that I'd done a million times before, my heart was racing, and my stomach felt sick. Though if I had needed time to address those nauseous feelings, tough luck, because the ringing had stopped.

"Hey, Els?" I released a breath I had been holding as soon as I heard his voice, because it was the same. Nothing had changed despite the fact I'd convinced myself it had. He was still Peter and I was still Elizabeth.

"Hey Peter." I paused in order to think of what to say next, but quickly continued before he could say anything more. "Will you come round to mine tonight?"

"Yeah, of course... but is everything ok?" I closed my eyes, pressing my palm against my temple and biting my lip. Everything should be ok, there was no reason for it not to be, but unfortunately I was a complete mess and so everything was very much the opposite of ok. My words didn't convey that message.

"Yeah, everything's fine... I just owe you a movie night, right?" I heard his hum of sceptical agreement through the phone. "Can't a girl miss her best friend?"

"Not when she's been avoiding him..." His voice sounded quieter than before, as though he wasn't sure whether he should say what he just did. I hadn't expected him to point it out, but he had and I deserved it. He was right.

"I have so many apologies to make to you Pete. Please just come over tonight, I'll order us food and we can talk."

"I'll be there at 6?"

"Six is perfect."

"See you later El-Bell." I closed my eyes with a sigh at the affectionate nickname. Affection that I really didn't deserve. Although his voice didn't hold the same care it once had as he said it, which I probably (definitely) did deserve.

"Cya Pete." He hung up the phone before I could, only moments after I said goodbye. I suppose I deserved that too, but at least this had been a wake-up call. I wasn't going to lose him, even if it meant pulling myself together and admitting the truth. I had to tell him the truth and I would.

I tapped my foot anxiously, my slipper bouncing further towards my toes with every tap, forcing me to control my anxious tick and reign it in. I'd tried to sit, or stand, or lay down, or anything that didn't involve pacing or tapping, but I hadn't been able to. I'd glanced at my phone at least 12 times in the last few minutes, constantly checking the time, or looking for messages, anything to try to distract my brain.

Tony had decided to remove himself from the equation entirely tonight, still not knowing what had happened between Pete and I and clearly deciding he'd rather stay out of it. The moment Pepper had stepped through the door at 5pm he'd linked his arm through hers and dragged her back out, announcing that they were going out for dinner tonight. Whilst I was thankful I wouldn't have prying eyes watching what would probably end up in a catastrophe of an evening, it also meant I didn't have anyone to cause a distraction should I need to escape via parachute off the balcony.

I'd just managed to park myself on one of the kitchen bar stools, opening up instagram and aimlessly scrolling when the door opened and I was no longer alone. Peter nodded at me silently, his hands buried in his jean pockets as we regarded each other - somewhat awkwardly - from across the room. I returned the nod, my lip captured between my teeth as I chewed at the skin anxiously. Eventually, after far too long of awkward silence, Peter sighed.

"Elizabeth what is going on? Like seriously, have I done something to upset you? You haven't spoken to me in over a week and I have no clue why. Just talk to me." I released a sad sigh, hopping down off the bar stool and taking a few steps towards him, my fingers occupied anxiously playing with the sleeve of my jumper. I stopped in front of him, not meeting his eye as I focused on my hands. I'd never been great at confrontation with people I cared about. Strangers posed no worries for me, but the people I loved... I'd never found it easy. My fidgeting was halted as his hands reached out for my own, slipping his fingers between mine and holding them tight.

"If something's up you can tell me... It's me El-bell, you can tell me anything." He was right, I could, and I should. I needed to tell him the truth and it was so simple. All I needed to say was Peter, I like you, as more than a friend. It was that easy, it would only take a few seconds and it would be done. I sucked in a breath, finally meeting his eye.

"I've been having these nightmares... for a few months now." He furrowed his brow, clearly not expecting that to be what I said. I hadn't exactly expected it either.

"Nightmares? About what?"

"I don't really know, they're weird, like they're in pieces and I can't quite put it together." His hands remained entwined with mine as he moved towards the sofas, pulling me along with him and dropping onto the chair. I fell into the seat beside him, one hand still gripping his tight as I pulled my legs up underneath me.

"But they feel so real, you know? Like they're not dreams they're memories... or like I'm actually there and they get a little bit clearer every time." He remained silent, focusing on listening to me intently rather that interjecting at this point, which only served to prolong my rant.

"Then this morning, I overheard Tony on the phone to someone, I don't know who... but he was telling them about my dreams and he was asking them if I was safe. Like what does that even mean? Why wouldn't I be safe? And why wouldn't he tell me if he thought I was in danger rather than adding yet another thing to the list of lies he's always telling."

"Woah okay just breathe." His hands reached out, brushing my hair behind my ears and coming to rest either side of my face. "Just, stop panicking and breathe properly, you haven't had a panic attack in so long lets keep it that way."

I nodded as best as I could with his hands clamped against my cheeks, my own hands coming to rest on his forearms as I followed along with his breathing. Somehow he'd always known how to deal with my panic attacks in the right way, since the very first time I'd sprung one on him. Even then he'd remained calm, helping me remember how to breathe and bringing me back faster than anyone ever had.

"That's better, keep breathing like that." He removed his hands from my face, scooting closer and draping an arm over my shoulder, his free hand stroking soothing patterns in my hair.

"I'm really scared Peter. I'm never scared but this time I am, because I could be in danger and I'm completely in the dark."

His eyes held just as much worry as mine did in that moment, and I knew it was because he was lying to me too, only serving to increase my problems. While this revelation hadn't been the truth I'd planned on blurting out tonight, it was true, every word. I hadn't realised it until I said it out loud now but I was scared. I was terrified and I felt completely hopeless to fix it.

"I just don't understand why you've been avoiding me because of this." That was a good point, how did I go about justifying that, considering it was definitely not the reason I had been avoiding him.

"I'm so sorry I've been avoiding you I didn't mean to. I've just been really anxious and stressed and I'm trying to work out what all of this means and it's just had me so distracted. I didn't mean for you to suffer because of that." I was surprised to hear his quiet laugh, arms pulling me into a tight hug.

"And you thought you could do all of that on your own? I'm not the one who's suffering here, I just wish you'd told me this sooner rather than letting it drag you down like this."

Well, at least it looked as though I was a great liar, even if I was a bad person. I hadn't been lying to him per se, it was just that I hadn't told him the actual truth. I knew that I should, and sitting here with him now, wrapped in his arms as he whispered comforting words, I felt like it was insane not to tell him the truth. But my mouth just couldn't formulate the words. It was more prevelant now than ever that I didn't deserve him. He deserved the truth and he deserved someone brave enough to always give him that. That wasn't me.

"Look at me," He increased the space between us slightly, though not much, our faces close as he spoke. "We're gonna work this out, you and me together, ok? Because it's always going to be you and me, together. You got that?"

I nodded in silent awe at his sincerity. God I did not deserve this boy and I never would, but here I was, blessed to be beside him as he promised his loyalty to me. I didn't need proof to know he was telling the truth when he said we were going to work it out together. His words were all I needed.

"Good," He smiled, placing a kiss on my forehead and squeezing me in one last quick hug, "Now I'm starving, how about we order takeout and stuff our faces while freaking ourselves out watching a horror movie."

I grinned, loving the way he always knew exactly what I needed.

"Peter Parker I think you might be my soulmate." He fanned his face with his hand, joking about how I was making him blush before dramatically asking if I would take his hand in marriage, if he was truly my soulmate.

I suddenly felt stupid for ever worrying about us. Even if I did tell him the truth and he didn't feel the same way, he would love me no less either way. That didn't mean I was going to honestly declare my feelings for him right now. But maybe I would soon. Perhaps.


	11. Oh Brother

*Tony's POV*

I stretched my tired arms over my head, sighing at the satisfying pop my shoulders made. I'd been confined to an office all day, and I had to admit, I wasn't overly keen on it. The main, and most important in my opinion, thing I learned from being miserable behind a desk, was that handing over the company to Pepper was the best decision I had ever made. That woman was a business powerhouse, and I'd often thought that maybe she had in fact been trained since birth for the role of CEO. I, however, had never been one for all that serious business nonsense, which was probably why my predecessor tried to take over the company... and also kill me. Either way, I was blessed to have Pepper Potts helping to grow my company into something amazing, something which I hoped would someday - at least partially - pass into the hands of my sister.

Now, Elizabeth… she was truly something else, and I'd known it since the day I met her; tiny, stubborn and never afraid to tell me I when I was being an idiot. And now here she was, a little bit less tiny, though just as stubborn and everything I could have hoped she would become. Yes, she still had a long way to go, but the kid was already running her own foundation, as well as studying and assisting Pepper with the company. She was basically me and Pepper rolled into one, which was incredible as well as slightly terrifying. She had always been a force to be reckoned with and I could only see that becoming more prevalent as the years went on.

Speaking of my favourite sister, last time I'd seen her she was heading to the labs with Peter, to work on something she had said was top secret and I should keep my nose out of. Of course, I'd obliged, not eager to face her wrath should I start sneaking around and see something she didn't want me to. As long as their top secret work didn't involve making out, they could hide away to their hearts content.

Now, Peter Parker. That was something I was yet to address with myself. There was no doubt in my mind that he was a good kid, and he was going to become a great man. But he was reckless and he took risks that had endangered lives on more than one occasion. This fact had left me at an impasse, because what do you do when your baby sister falls for a superhero? And yes, I would certainly say 'falls for' due to the fact that she was completely and obviously infatuated with the boy, as he was with her. In fact, I'm sure that they're the only two people in the world who hadn't realised it yet.

I'd never found out what happened between them to make Els ghost his calls and texts after Paris, but whatever it was seemed to have been resolved now, and I wasn't about to make teenage drama my business so I hadn't bothered to ask.

I rolled my chair away from the large glass desk, flipping my laptop closed and rising to my feet with a groan. Realising I needed to get away from this stuffy office asap, I slipped out the door and along the corridor, pausing at the elevator as I considered my next move. My finger was quickly on the call button, lighting it up as the elevator made its way to me.

I reasoned with myself that I wasn't being nosy, or snooping, or trying to catch them out as I exited the elevator on the level that housed Lab-5, which I had outfitted especially for Els' needs a few years go. Mostly to keep her from messing up all the other labs with her curious experimenting. I assumed she thought I didn't know that she'd taken one of my nanotech prototypes and blow up half her lab. Of course I knew, I wasn't an idiot. However, I had to admit I was impressed with how quickly she managed to get everything fixed up, and the lengths she went to to hide it from me, so I'd let her off this time. Though it had worried me slightly, knowing that she was now aware of how to use, probably the majority of, my tech. Apart from that, she'd made great use of the space and it was amazing to see how she'd taken this gift and created something great from it, something that was most likely going to shape the futures of many. She was a better person than I was and could ever be and that filled me with an overwhelming pride. I hadn't had much, if any, involvement in what the Midtown High kids had been working on, but with Els and her brilliantly determined brain at the helm, I could only imagine it was something awesome. Pausing outside the door for a moment, I attempted to listen through the cracks to whatever might be going on inside. Unfortunately, and obviously, that action was pointless as I had designed and built these doors myself meaning that no sound would be escaping from that room any time soon.

Keying in the code, I rolled my aching shoulders and waited for the door to slide open, revealing my sister and Parker huddled over a desk, quietly discussing something that I couldn't quite discern. My presence seemed to have gone unnoticed as their attention was fixed on each other and their work, so I cleared my throat in an attempt to announce myself. It was Els who picked up on the sound, spinning in her chair and sending me a wide smile.

"Hey Tony, what's up?" She kept her gaze locked on mine as her hand reached behind to the papers that littered the desk, shoving them towards Peter who was hurriedly gathering them up and stuffing them into a large folder. I narrowed my eyes, unable to suppress the smile that Els' rapidly fluttering lashes had coerced from me.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to find out your secrets," I tucked my hands into my pockets and leaned my shoulder against the wall, "I just thought you two might be hungry. Wanna grab some lunch?"

They shared a slightly confused glance, understandably suspicious of my offer. It wasn't as though the three of us had been especially civil with each other in the past, and eating together was a scenario that had not yet come to pass. But if they were gonna be falling in love and getting married I'd have to build bridges at some point, and there's no time like the present. Peter offered her an unsure smile and a nod, a looking passing between them which she quickly translated to me.

"Sounds good, I'm starving."

Admittedly, forcing us into a lunch together had probably not been one of my best ideas, and the whole event had taken a horribly awkward and uncomfortable tone right from the start. Els and Peter had announced almost immediately that they couldn't be bothered to physically make lunch themselves, an unsurprising fact, and so headed straight out to a café around the corner that they swore did the best burgers. Never being one to argue against a good burger, I gave them my order, and my wallet, and they went on their way. They had only taken about 20 minutes, and by the time I'd got myself settled they were back, laying out an array of unhealthy but delicious snacks, including my greatly anticipated cheese burger.

I glanced up over my bun, my gaze flicking between the two of them as we ate in near silence, that slightly awkward air continuing to hover between us. Someone needed to talk, and I knew it was probably going to have to be me, so I finished the bite I was currently chewing and took a breath.

"So the only small talk I can think of to end this awkward silence is asking what you two have been up to all day, but seeing as your little project is top secret I'm all out of ideas." Peter offered no more than an uncomfortable grimace, clearly hating the unusual air between us all right now as much as I was. Els simply laughed.

"First of all, it isn't a 'little project', it's a very big project." She popped the last bite of her burger in her mouth, along with a few chips before falling back against the sofa cushions with a sigh.

"It's gonna be big Tony, trust me." Her and Peter shared a knowing look, a smirk on their lips as I narrowed my eyes at their interaction.

It amazed me slightly, how two kids who had barely known each other just a few months ago could be so in tune; so able to understand one another that they were practically the same person. It had worried me at first, that my little sister was getting so close to a boy like Peter Parker. That was until I realised what 'a boy like Peter Parker' entailed. From what I could see, he was a kid with big dreams and ambitions, and the means to reach whatever star he was shooting for. Yeah, he was still a 15 year old male with hormones, problems containing his emotions and, of course, superhuman abilities, but he was good. He made stupid decisions but it was obvious he was doing things for the right reasons even if the outcome was, more often than not, a disaster. Either way, seeing the two of them together now banished any worries I could possibly have. Just friends or more than friends, as long as my little sister didn't get hurt, I suppose could get behind the idea.

"So why can't I know about it?" It was a question that had been floating around in my head since I'd found out she was hiding her work, and I was desperate to find out why it needed to be so secretive. It wasn't as though she wasn't allowed her secrets… I didn't need to know what they were up to at all times but I'd always been one to let my curiosity get the better of me. I suppose that was where she got it from. That was one thing that had always, and kinda still did, scare me; Elizabeth was the spitting image of me when I was her age. Except, with morals. She pulled her lower lip between her teeth, seeming to contemplate her answer before she responded.

"Because... it's mine, and Peter's of course. I wanna do this one on my own... with Peter." I nodded as I begun to gather where she was going with this. "No offence but I don't want the headlines to read 'Tony Stark does this amazing thing and his little sister helps'. I want it to be mine and Peter's names up there. You know?"

"I get it," I held up my hands in acceptance, completely understanding where she was coming from in this case. Any hint of my assistance with this project and it would become about me, as usual, which was ridiculous but that's the media for you. "I don't wanna hear a word about this project until it's all done. How is it going though?"

Her grin said it all, her eyes lighting up as she thought about whatever it was they were doing together. I couldn't say that I wasn't dying to find out what it was, sure that it was going to be something incredible knowing my sister's mind, and Peter's for that matter. They were both scarily clever kids, incredibly smart and full of ideas and imagination. When you put brains and imagination together, you're bound to get amazing results, so it excited me to know that two of the greatest minds of their generation were working on something big. It was thrilling and slightly terrifying to consider what the two of them, working together, might be able to accomplish and create.

"It's going so well, right Peter?" He nodded fervently in response, his grin matching hers as they shared a knowing look between them.

"We're so close, just a few stupid little things that we need to work out, but it's going really great." Pride was all I felt when I saw their animated expressions and excited voices. It had been a while since I had really considered who and what Peter Parker was because right now, in this moment he wasn't Spider-man. He wasn't a superhero who risked his life to save people, or the friendly neighbourhood spider-man who helped old ladies cross the street and returned lost bikes. He was my little sister's best friend, a 15 year old kid from Queens with big ideas and a brilliant mind. While I'd had my reservations about them being friends to begin with, they'd long since flown out the window as soon as I saw the two of them working together. Even if I didn't want them to be friends, I think I'd have the fight of my life trying to keep them apart... so why bother. As long as Els didn't get dragged into any danger, they could be as chummy as they liked. But not too chummy... she was still my baby sister.

"Well then, you two better get back to it. This world changing work isn't gonna finish itself." They both nodded in agreement, my sister being the first to hop up from her seat, grabbing Peter's hand and dragging him along laughing behind her.

"Cya later Tony, thanks for lunch!" She called back to me over her shoulder, Peter sending a quick wave in my direction before they slipped through the doorway, almost bumping into a slightly confused looking Pepper on their way. I chuckled at the interaction, receiving a confused smile from the tailored dress and high heel clad strawberry blonde, who made her way over to me before placing a quick kiss on my forehead.

"Did I just witness you, Elizabeth and Peter in a room together and no arguments?" I quirked my lips, shrugging nonchalantly, her arm draping over my shoulder as she perched on the arm of the chair. Was it really that much of a surprise? I suppose, going by past events, it wasn't the norm to find us all together without some kind of argument ensuing. Or if not an argument, at least a few pointed glares and silent exchanges of distaste.

"I'm doing my best to reign it in. Besides, it's doing no harm." I waved away her comments, taking a sip of my drink with a shrug and lounging back into the cushions.

"Who are you and what have you done with Tony Stark?" I narrowed my eyes, nudging her gently resulting in the wavering of her balance slightly before she righted herself with a halfhearted frown.

"Look, I don't know what the hell they're up to but I'm damn sure it's good work. Whatever's going on in that lab, I'm fine with it. They have all the potential to do something great together and I'm not going to be the one to hold them back." She quirked a perfectly sculpted brow at me, cocking her head with slightly narrowed eyes.

"And the fact that they're best friends? Basically in love with each other even though they haven't realised it yet? That part doesn't bother you anymore?" Yes. No? I wasn't sure what bothered me anymore, if anything.

"Elizabeth being within twenty feet of a boy romantically is going to bother me whether she's fifteen or fifty, that's never going to change, but eventually I'm gonna have to accept that. And I mean, it could be much worse than Peter Parker." Her laugh and small nod told me she agreed, and it was true, my sister could do much worse. He was smart, kind, ambitious and definitely going to do great things with his life. It was just a shame he was an over-confident, under-experienced superhero who was bound to put her life in danger sooner or later. I would know, it was like looking in a mirror sometimes.

"And how about the other issue... the secrets? Don't you think she deserves to know who her best friend really is?" I clenched my jaw, breathing out a sigh with a halfhearted shrug.

"Of course she does, but you know that girl as well as I do. If she finds out her best friend is putting himself in danger, she's gonna be right there beside him." We both knew it was true. If there was one thing about Els that was both her best attribute and her biggest flaw it was her absolute and unwavering loyalty to those she loved. "Sometimes I think she forgets that she's a normal 15 year old kid, you know. She's too brave for her own good and it's gonna get her hurt. At least if she doesn't know then she can't make any stupid decisions."

"She will always make stupid decisions Tony, she is your sister remember. She's far more like you that I think you'd like to admit, and that's scary, but where do you think she gets her loyalty and bravery from? What did you expect? Either way, she's going to end up doing dumb things and getting herself hurt because that's what her big brother would do. But then she'll learn, and she'll be stronger from it."

"But I don't want her to do dumb things and get hurt in the first place." A reassuring hand came to rest on my shoulder.

"That's out of your control." As reluctant as I was to admit it, she was right, and I nodded with a sad smile. I couldn't exactly keep her locked up for the rest of her life, and she was going to find out about Peter sooner or later, if he didn't tell her first.

"Either way, it isn't my place to tell her. If Peter wants her to know then he has to be the one to say it. But my bet is that he won't, because he'd rather lie to her face than put her in danger."

"Kinda scary how like you Peter is, don't you think." I didn't miss what her tone was suggesting, and she wasn't wrong. I had lied to Elizabeth many times, I still did, and just as I predicted Peter would, I justified it by saying I was protecting her. The thought had crossed my mind once or twice that what I was doing wasn't for the best at all, and would only end up coming back to bite me in the ass. But then I looked at her and it didn't matter how old she got. I looked at her and while I could see a beautiful young woman I couldn't shake the image of her in pigtails and hair bows, telling her big brother how much she loved him and smiling with that gappy grin she'd had when she lost her two front teeth at the same time. It was hard to watch her grow up because growing up meant learning the truth of her childhood. Right now she was, mostly, clueless to what really went on with her, and I wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. Thankfully, Pepper saved me from unearthing that stress again, her musical laughter pulling me back.

"Why are children using you as a role model, hm? What is the world becoming?" I grinned at her thoughtful expression, an air of worry in her tone that quickly dissipated with a giggle.

"Honestly Peps, it's all gone to shit. Kids are crazy and they're all making terrible life decisions." We shared in our laughter at the thought, a moment of happiness between us before a single realisation brought it all crashing back down.

"She's been having more dreams." The mood was suddenly sombre between us as Pepper gave me a silent look of sad understanding. "Almost every night now. I don't think she's slept properly for months."

"She's getting damn good at hiding it..." Pepper commented, worry lacing her words and rightly so because she was correct. Els was getting better and better at hiding how exhausted, and even worse, how scared she really was.

"I've been having FRIDAY scan her vitals and brain activity at night, just to see if there's anything unusual happening while she's dreaming." Immediately, I could see the panic in Peppers' eyes, clearly catching on to what I was thinking.

"Tony, what are you expecting to see in those scans?" I'd love to have had an answer to that question, but you see, this is where the problem lay.

"No idea, and that's the scary part. I have no idea what to look for, if anything at all."

"Have you spoken to anyone else about this?"

"Yeah I spoke to Fury a few weeks ago, he was the one who suggested the scans. I called him a few days ago too... I just wanna know if she's safe, you know? I just feel helpless with all of this. None of us are ever going to really know what those bastards did to her."

I didn't receive a response straight away, Pepper seeming to consider her reply before saying anything. But I already knew what she was going to say, and I already knew my answer.

"Don't you think we should tell her about this?"

"No." She had barely finished her sentence before my sharp response came. "Whatever is going on with her, she is a fifteen year old kid. She's had a childhood that no one should have to suffer and her life is finally showing some semblance of normalcy. She's happy, she's successful and I do not want to bring that crashing down around her when it might not be necessary."

"But what if it is? What if she isn't safe and she can't prepare herself because she's completely in the dark?" I could tell by her raised tone that this was quickly descending into an argument that neither of us needed right now. I sighed, rubbing my temples with the palms of my hands.

"She's safe, and as long as I'm here to protect her she always will be." Pepper rose from her seat, offering me a sympathetic look as her hand brushed through my hair.

"You wont be here to protect her forever. You know her Tony, she's clever and she's going to start looking for the truth eventually, if she hasn't already. Just consider what it might do when she finds out you've been keeping her in the dark." She was right, and I knew it, but that didn't change my reluctance to fill her in. Maybe I would, eventually... but why worry her with something that might be nothing.

I received another kiss on the head before my company exited the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts once again, a dangerous place to be right now. I would tell her, but not until I'd worked out what was going on for myself. If I was going to learn anything new, I was going to have to dig deeper than I'd ever managed to before. It looked as though I'd have my work cut out for me, so I headed back towards the office, keen to start my research as soon as possible.

*Elizabeth's POV*

"Your hair is really soft after you wash it..." I glanced up from my phone, pausing mid type and furrowing my brow in amused confusion. I twisted my head to see better from my position on the bed, tucked under Peter's arm and pressed against his side comfortably.

"What?" His eyes widened slightly, as if he hadn't quite meant for what he said to come out the way it did. His fingers hovered over the keyboard on his lap and his shoulders lifted in a small shrug as he clearly decided that he wasn't all that bothered by what he'd just said, choosing instead to just roll with it.

"After you wash your hair, it's really soft. It smells pretty good too, like coconut and vanilla. I like it." I bit my lip in a feeble attempt to suppress my grin, giving up as a burst of laughter stretched my lips into a wide smile.

"We're here, trying to write the vitally important code for the satellite software to work, and you're commenting on my soft coconut and vanilla hair?" His quiet breath of a chuckle quickly descended into loud laughter as we disregarded our devices in lieu of our hysterics. It wasn't as though he hadn't complimented me before, or commented on a factor of myself that he liked, but the way he had broken the silence with his unexpected and frankly bizarre words had managed to tickle me, and I couldn't have helped my laughter if I'd tried.

Catching my breath I wriggled away from him, reaching for my phone which had dropped off the bed in the midst of our giggles, only to have arms wrap around my waist, pulling me back into his chest with a thump.

"Come back here El-Bell, I must creepily sniff your hair like a serial killer." His breath was warm against my neck, blowing through my hair in a way that would have normally set my hairs on end in a good way. However, when paired with the creepy stalker voice he was putting on, it had quite the opposite effect, only serving to make me shiver. I snorted out a laugh, wriggling in his grasp and batting him away with the hand I'd managed to slip out of his.

"Peter Parker you're such a creep get off of me!" I finally managed to escape from his arms, leaving my cardigan behind in his outstretched fingers as I rolled clumsily onto the floor with a thump. I held up my hands, using my fingers to form a cross in front of me, pretending to ward off evil with a smirk still on my lips.

It felt good, to have this kind of playful rapport with him again, after our little friendship hiatus, courtesy of me. However, it only served to remind me of why I had initiated that break in the first place. Now that I sat here, on the floor on my bedroom clutching my phone to my chest and ignoring the sore pain in my bum from where I'd hit the floor, it was harder than ever. Because there he was, lounged comfortably on my bed, his hair slightly tousled from our little wrestling match and that lopsided grin lighting up his face. He just fit. He fit with me, and with my life. Him being here, right here where he was sitting right now was perfect, as though it had always been meant to be.

"Now you're the creep... stop staring at me we have work to do." He turned the complaints on me, acting as though he wasn't the one who had initiated the distraction in the first place. "Come on Elizabeth, stop screwing around what are you, five years old?" My lips fell apart, gawping at the sudden change in his attitude, yet unable to rid myself of the smile that matched his. I quirked a brow, hopping to my feet and resting a hand on my hip.

"Fine, if you wanna be all professional, I'm gonna go sit over there," I pointed towards the couch with a smirk, "and you can stay over here. Far away from any distractions."

I started for the couch, turning away from him with a smug smile and ignoring his protesting cries. If he wanted to play that game, he needed to know that I could play it better than anyone.

A number of hours had passed without either of us really noticing, all concentration on our work after the brief distraction, more determined than ever to finally reach a conclusion. It wasn't as though either of us really wanted the work to be over, and I could bet that as soon as it was we would invent some other project as an excuse to spend copious amounts of hours working in each other's company. While it had begun to drive me a bit insane, being so close to completion but not quite there for some time now, I'd still enjoyed working on it and a part of me didn't want that to end. It felt like this was something special, bigger and more important that any other work either of us were doing by far, but not just because of the impact it could have.

It was special because it was ours. The two of us, each fifteen years old, had managed to combine our knowledge and efforts to do something that most people would never expect from two kids our age. Admittedly, it hadn't been easy, and since the beginning we'd encountered a plethora of issues, but we'd fixed them all. Somehow, whether it be through talent or sheer willpower, we'd managed to create something truly amazing, and now here we were, jumping over the last few hurdles to reach the finish line.

My brain had begun to ache, a haze washing over me as the letters and numbers on my screen blurred into a jumble. I suppose, there was only so much continuous work we could do before one or both of us went utterly insane, but being this close and giving up would likely be enough to do that anyway. So, we soldiered on, Peter tapping away at his keyboard with a thoughtful expression as I mirrored his actions on my phone.

I'd never been as good at the software aspect of things, much better with my hands than I was with a computer, which had left Peter to do the majority of the coding. Fortunately, that seemed to be his speciality, and not long after I had brought him on board with the project almost all of the code was written and perfected. Almost.

I wouldn't pretend to know what he was doing as his fingers moved at lightening speed over the keys, occupying myself instead with tweaking a few of the hardware plans while he worked, piping up with a helpful tip every now and then. Apparently, my helpful tips were more distracting than helpful, so eventually I'd resorted to offering motivational words of encouragement instead. The most annoying one, which Peter had kindly pointed out to me, involved me holding up my phone sporting the image of a cat hanging from a washing line with the words "hang in there" printed in bold lettering underneath. Personally, I thought it had been greatly motivational and I was doing a wonderful job. I had, however, ceased with the words of wisdom when a cushion connected with my head mid way through telling him that he could "climb any mountain".

Eventually, I ran out of tweaks to make to the hardware and had discarded my phone with a loud groan. Before I could say anything however, Peter had announced that I needed to keep my mouth shut and find something else to occupy myself while he worked, lest he might commit homicide. I accepted his words with my hands in surrender, slipping off to the bathroom to take a much needed shower, after toiling over work all day.

I gave him the space he needed, taking longer than necessary letting the warm water rush over me and soothe my aching back. Note to self, order more comfortable lab chairs. As well as soaking in the warm water, I allowed my thoughts to wander. Yes, it was a dangerous thing to do but it couldn't be helped. Showers had a way of motivating unnecessary thought processes.

It had been a while since I considered the Stark Internship, the amount it bothered me decreasing as it fell to the wayside. There was too much else going on at the moment for me to even consider what the hell was going on with that, between the foundation and my emotional turmoil regarding my best friend, there just wasn't time. Plus, I'd left Madelyn to conduct reconnaissance into that matter, and knowing her she would turn up something soon enough.

That left me to mull over the same thing I had been for much too long. My feelings. Those pesky things that did nothing but cause me pain and strife. Although, I suppose there was something else I could distract myself with, though it wasn't that much more positive than the emotions.

I could't forget the worry that had laced my brother's tone just the other day, as he quizzed the voice down the phone on my wellbeing. It worried me, understandably because if my brave big brother was scared, then I should probably be scared too, and I was. The dreams had become so much more frequent, only giving me rest-bite of a few nights before returning in full force. Not much had changed recently, no more glaringly obvious revelations uncovered as I slept, though that didn't make it any better. It stuck with me like a sour taste in my mouth that I couldn't rid myself of, and there was a part of me that screamed that it wasn't something I should be ignoring. There was no way in hell that these were just normal dreams, and as much as I wanted to uncover what they really meant, the question still posed was how?

Despite my sudden and damaging interest in dragging myself down that rabbit hole, I didn't get a chance. I furrowed my brow, shutting of the shower and cocking my head towards the door, sure that I had just heard someone shout. I didn't get a chance to hear the sound again as the bathroom door swung open with force, the culprit freezing on the spot with wide eyes.

"Shit… you're naked. I'm gonna leave!" I matched Peter's expression, eternally grateful for the steam that shielded my nakedness from his view. I covered my face with my palms as he scurried back out and slammed the door behind him, taking a moment to compose myself before hurrying out of the shower, drying and dressing in the warm sweatpants and soft jumper I'd laid out for myself.

I paused at the door, shaking my head with an amused sigh before anxiously re-entering my bedroom. Peter kept his gaze locked on his computer screen, only glancing at me briefly before turning back awkwardly. I quirked a brow, leaning against the door frame and watching him expectantly, receiving only silence in response.

"Would you like to share why you just barged in on me showering or…?" His fingers froze over the keyboard, the cogs of his brain almost visibly turning as he searched for a reply.

"I didn't… see anything." Somehow, I managed to raise my brow even higher, biting back the laugh that threatened to escape at witnessing this beautiful train wreck of a boy. My silence forced him to continue, much to my delight and enjoyment.

"It was like… all steamed up so I couldn't even see into the shower. Not that I was looking or anything! I just totally forgot you were showering and then I opened the door and realised but it was too late and s-" I held up a hand, my snort of laughter unable to remain contained as he regarded me with worried eyes.

"It's fine Peter, try not to have an aneurism. Just tell me why you came bursting into the bathroom all excited… yeah?" His awkwardness remained as he rubbed at his neck uncomfortably with a shrug, still too embarrassed to fully think about what he was saying.

"Oh, yeah I've done it, I sorted the code." His revelation was so nonchalant you would think he'd just announced that dinner was ready, or that he'd dropped a pencil. But it wasn't that insignificant, in fact, it was a revelation of extreme significance and I blinked at his announcement with confusion.

"I'm sorry, you what?" As if he'd just emerged from his daze and remembered what was going on, his eyes lit up as he straightened in his seat with an excited grin.

"The code. It's done, I fixed it." I cleared the space between us in under a second, dropping onto the bed beside him and turning the laptop towards me, despite the fact I didn't understand most of what was on there and the action didn't tell me anything.

"It's done? Like… it's completely finished?" He nodded quickly, our expressions mirrored as we allowed our excitement to take over. I threw myself towards him with outstretched arms, launching us into a hug that sent him toppling back into the cushions, our limbs tangled together as I lay on top of him.

For a moment it didn't even matter that we were in what should be an awkwardly intimate position, both of us too thrilled to consider how we were led. His arms tightened around me as he reciprocated the hug, his laughter quiet in my ear as he buried his face into my shoulder. A part of me would have happily stayed in that position forever, that was until the other part of me realised how awkward it really was, sending me hurtling back to my seat beside him. Slightly less intrusive than on top of him. We shared a somewhat awkward smile before shaking off any discomfort and turning back to the laptop that held everything we needed to move forward with our project.

"It's done. It's actually done." I sunk back into the cushions with a sigh of relief, or was it despair? As much as I was thrilled it was complete… it was over. All the hours spent toiling over documents and diagrams in the lab, our physical proximity also bringing us closer emotionally. But I suppose all good things had to come to an end, and no matter how much I had loved spending my time in such a productive and rewarding way, it couldn't go on indefinitely.

"Not quite yet, we still gotta get it all set up and installed, all the while praying that it actually works. But yeah I suppose you're right… the bulk of Project Clarify is over." I cocked my head with a ghost of a smile, shooting him a questioning look.

"Project Clarify?" He offered me a weak shrug and an expectant smile in return, his gaze dropping before swiftly returning to meet mine.

"It's crap, isn't it? I dunno we just hadn't come up with a name for it and the word made sense for what it's doing so I just thought maybe it could work, I dunno I-" I hushed him with a finger and a laugh, shaking my head with a wide grin.

"I love it. It makes total sense _and_ it sounds cool, so it's perfect." He appeared relieved, draping an arm over my shoulder and closing his eyes before pulling me back with him into the soft bed linens. We lay like that for a little while in silence, my head against his shoulder and his arm around me, eyes closed to the world as we cherished the moment. There wasn't a more perfect state of being than the one we were in right now, our quiet breathing the only sound other than the quiet murmur of the laptop's fan and the even quieter drone of traffic in the city below. A soft and thoughtful hum from my company drew my attention, and he met my eye as I turned in his embrace to look at him expectantly.

"I suppose… we're going to have to find some other reason to hang out now." The corners of my mouth twitched in amusement, a thoughtful expression taking pride of place on my face.

"How about… we hang out because I like you. And because you like me." If he caught onto the romantic undertones that lingered in my mind but would remain unspoken he didn't make it apparent, simply offering a devious smirk in response.

"You mean… because you're madly in love with me, right?" Thankfully my internal panic didn't appear to be noticeable, and I quickly reigned it in, donning my usual mask.

"Exactly." Yes. Exactly. He appeared to ponder the offer for a moment, scrunching his nose up in distaste and rolling away from me with a groan.

"I dunno, you're not gonna be all weird and say strange things about how my hair smells nice are you? Because that would be creepy." My eyes fell to his lips, and the way they just curled at the corners, slightly lopsided in his smile as whimsy sparkled in his eyes. As much as I wanted to play into his little game, allowing myself to fall into his trap willingly, I chose not to. The consequences of allowing that to happen were too great, and so instead, I smiled sweetly and batted my lashes.

"You'd be so lucky, Parker." He shook his head with a laugh, holding his hand towards me in a familiar way as he waited for me to reciprocate with the handshake he had insisted we make up early on in our friendship. I obliged, our hands following the familiar pattern, ending in a classic fist bump followed by a pinky shake. Of course… Peter was the one who had come up with it.

"Maybe, someday I will be." Our pinkies remained linked as he met my eye, his smile becoming something sincere as he watched me with a look I couldn't quite decipher. I slipped my hand from his, breaking our gaze with a quiet cough and turning back to the laptop to distract myself from the incredibly intimate moment we just appeared to have shared.

"We better get back to work." If I hadn't know better, I would have sworn he'd looked disappointed. Nonetheless he agreed, scooping up his laptop and making for the door, calling back to me with a wink before slipping out into the hallway, leaving me to scramble after him with a laugh. Who would have thought it huh… Me, Elizabeth Maria Stark, chasing after Peter Parker. What an odd turn of events.


	12. Sweet 16

*Peter's POV*

"No May, you don't get it!" I groaned, continuing my frantic pacing of the kitchen, wracking my brain for ideas. I'd spent a fair portion of the last few days stressing over this, as soon as I'd been reminded of Els' birthday. It was silly, I knew that, to stress so much over a present, but that hadn't stopped me from spending far too much time scouring the shops of Manhatten to find something. Unfortunately, whether it be due to my lack of faith in my choices or the lack of variety offered, I was yet to settle on the perfect gift.

"Peter, please stop pacing you're going to wear a hole in the floor." I shot her a glare, to which she held her hands up in amused defeat, a smirk playing on her lips.

"This is Elizabeth Stark we're talking about, the girl that has everything." I flailed my hands dramatically before dropping into the chair beside the kitchen table and running my fingers through my hair. "What do I get for the girl who has everything?"

"Your amazing company?" May suggested with a laugh before shrinking away from my death stare with a grin.

"I'm serious May, it has to be something special. I can't just get her some basic predictable gift, its gotta be good. It has to be special."

"Okay, okay, we can work this out. If she has everything she could ever need, why not get her something she doesn't really need." I narrowed my eyes, my lips remaining pressed into a thin line as I silently judged her ridiculous comment. If she wasn't going to make any reasonable suggestions then she would be no help at all.

"That literally makes no sense." She shrugged with a chuckle, falling silent as she glanced around thoughtfully.

"Why is this even stressing you out so much?" Oh no. She'd folded her arms over her chest, quirking her brow in a knowing kind of way.

"Because... I need to get her something special, something she's going to love." This was true, of course. I wanted to get her something special which was a totally normal thing for a best friend to do, but I had to admit that I was ignoring the real reason behind the increased effort. I wasn't sure exactly when it had happened, and I certainly wasn't ready to say it out loud yet, but at some point, I'd stopped seeing Els as just a friend. Not that it mattered because she was Elizabeth Stark and she was beautiful and smart and amazing and I was Peter Parker. I don't think I could handle being rejected right now, so I'd just chosen to keep it to myself for a while longer.

"I'm sure she'll love and appreciate whatever you get." She wasn't wrong, but that didn't change the fact that I wanted it to be someting different... personal and meaningful.

"I know that but that's not the point." It had to be perfect and special because it had to stand out. Lord knows that she was going to get some incredible gifts, Tony freakin' Stark is her brother, and I didn't want to get lost in the background.

"You really care about her don't you?" I immediately picked up what May was putting down, eager to avoid the same lecture I'd received from Ned only a few days ago. Was I that obvious?

"She's my best friend, yeah."

"You know that's not what I meant..." I knew that look well. The 'I know exactly what's going on even if you don't' look that May always had in times like this. It was the 'I've got you all figured out' kind of look that I hated.

"You're getting off subject, help me think of something!" I pleaded, rubbing circles into my temples in frustration.

"Okay okay... Girls love jewellery, get her a necklace or something." _Great, thanks for that ingenious, totally disgusting and clichéd idea._

"She's not that kind of girl," I tried to explain, sinking into my chair in frustration. "Yeah she has tonnes of jewellery and I'm sure she loves it, but it's not important to her. It's just a thing, she has plenty of things."

"Okay so, think of something meaningful. What does she love? What are her favourite things, hobbies, interests?" I ran my fingers through my hair, staring at the ceiling as I thought. What had she spoken to me about before?

"Uh... I dunno she likes mechanics, comic books, dancing, astronomy..." I perked up, sitting straight in my seat as a smile grew on my lips. I ignored the look of confusion May was currently giving me, jumping up and leaning over to give her a hug.

"May you're amazing!" I praised excitedly before sprinting from the room, just about hearing the quiet "You're welcome" she had called out after me.

Admittedly, my plan had taken me a hell of a lot longer than I thought it would and ended up being slightly more complicated than I had anticipated, but it would be worth it. I grinned as I looked at my creation with pride, an excitement boiling inside me as I imagined her face when she saw it. Not to blow my own trumpet, but I was probably the best friend a person could have.

*Elizabeth's POV*

"You're kidding..." I gawped, narrowing my eyes at my brother as he grinned at me. While I knew Tony had always been generous with birthday gifts, this really was something else. We stood together in front of the 1969 Dodge Charger Tony and I had spent months painstakingly bringing back to life. A car we'd poured our hearts, souls and money - well, Tony's money - into.

"I'm not kidding." He replied in complete seriousness, throwing an arm around my shoulder and tugging me towards him in a tight hug. "Happy birthday Squirt."

I remained silent, speechless by the gesture. He was giving me the car. The Dodge was mine. Paired with the fact I'd passed my driving test only a few days earlier, this had quickly become the best birthday present I'd ever received. I glanced up at him with a grin, wrapping my arms around his waist and burying my face into his chest.

"You are literally the best big brother in the world I love you so much," I mumbled into his t-shirt, feeling his laugh rumble through his chest.

"Well yeah obviously..." He moved away slightly, turning to look at the car. "It turned out great didn't it?"

"It's perfect." I gushed, running my hand along the side as I admired the paintwork. He'd gone with a deep metallic red, accented with gold. A nod to the classic Iron Man suit design.

"I'm glad you like it... but you're gonna be needing this too." I cocked my head curiously at the envelope he was holding out to me, taking it with an excited smile and tearing it open. The DVLA logo gave away the contents before I could discover them, the little card dropping out into my hand announcing that I could now legally drive this beautiful thing. Somehow Tony had managed to find some sway with the DVLA, allowing me to take my test while I was still 15, under the agreement I didn't drive until I received my license in the mail on my 16th birthday, and here it was. A squeal of happiness left my lips, as I waved the card excitedly, pulling my brother into a tight hug in celebration.

"Come on, let's go have breakfast before Madelyn arrives and trashes the place with gifts." I nodded in agreement, slipping the card into my pocket and glancing back at the car once more before following him out of the garage, letting the door swing shut behind me.

Pepper had cooked up a feast, the kitchen greeting us with the aromas of pancakes, bacon, sausages and every other breakfast food you could think of. I happily climbed onto the bar stool, resting my chin in my hands as I admired the scene before me, laughing as Tony reached around Pepper and snatched up a slice of bacon, only to be slapped on the hand with a spatula. I chuckled at their childish antics, grabbing a pancake from one of the serving plates and tearing a piece off.

"Happy birthday Elizabeth," Pepper wrapped me in a hug from behind, placing a kiss on my cheek before popping a blueberry in her mouth and returning to the stove.

"Thanks, Pepper," I smiled, mumbling through a mouthful of food. "These pancakes are delicious."

"They are great pancakes, but why are there so many?" Tony cut in, taking the seat next to mine and snatching the half a pancake left on my plate.

"Get your own food!" I attempted to reclaim my pancake but was too slow, watching it disappear into Tony's grinning mouth.

"There's so much food because Madelyn and Happy are going to be joining us earlier than expected," Pepper chose to entirely ignore our childish antics, continuing with her cooking before glancing at her watch. "In fact, they should be here any minute."

As if by some kind of psychic magic, only a moment later there was a knock at the door, immediately followed by a determined Madelyn and a seriously weighed down Happy. Maddie practically skipped towards me, wishing me a happy birthday and engulfing me in a hug as Happy stumbled in behind, his arms decorated with gift bags of a variety of sizes and shapes, each one no doubt filled with a beautiful (and expensive) gift. One of the perks of having Maddie as a best friend was that she knew exactly what I liked, and her funds were near unlimited. This made birthdays quite the event.

"Morning Happy, do you need a hand?" I giggled as he dropped the bags ungracefully onto the floor with a huff.

"Daddy be careful, some of those gifts are fragile!" Maddie exclaimed, rushing over and digging through the bags to check everything was fine before rolling her eyes at her father. He chose to ignore her, instead making his way over to me, ruffling my hair before taking a seat at the bar.

"Happy birthday kiddo."

"Thanks, Happy." Maddie had busied herself helping Pepper, probably less out of kindness and more so that breakfast could be over faster and I could open her presents.

"I can't believe you're 16... I vote that you stop now. Don't grow up any more." I rolled my eyes at my brother's comment, throwing a blueberry across the table and frowning as it soared past him.

"We're gonna have to work on your aim..." He joked, regretting it as I threw another which bounced off his head. I smiled victoriously before popping the fruit in my mouth.

"Don't worry, I'll get Barton to help me out with that," I smirked, knowing that the comment would irk Tony. He'd always been against the idea of me knowing how to shoot, or to fight, or anything mildly dangerous for that matter.

"No, you will not." He snapped, his smile said he was joking whereas the serious edge to his tone warned me that he was simultaneously deadly serious. I held up my hands in defeat before turning back to my breakfast, just as eager to get it over with and move onto the gifts as Maddie was.

"Mads this is so cute!" I praised her taste as I held up the deep red dress in admiration. She flicked her hair over her shoulder with a nonchalant shrug.

"They had it in red or black, I chose red for obvious reasons..." I frowned at her, confused as to why red was the obvious choice. Clearly, she noticed my confusion as she grinned, leaning towards me and lowering her voice.

"Red is Peter's favourite colour." I felt my cheeks flush as I quickly folded the dress, placing it safely back in the box it had been neatly wrapped in. I wasn't given long to stew in my embarrassment, however, and Maddie dug through the carnage of wrapping paper to find the next gift.

"Saved the best till last..." I took the small neatly wrapped box from her hand, running the ribbon through my fingers as I examined it. "Stop trying to guess what it is and just open it, stupid."

I did as I was told, tearing off the wrapping to reveal what was inside. I smiled as I opened the box, revealing a chunky gold chain bracelet, the letter E hanging from one loop, with a small yellow diamond hanging beside it.

"Mads it's gorgeous!" I gushed, removing the bracelet from the box and handing it to Maddie to secure around my wrist. After she was done, she pulled up the sleeve of her jacket, revealing a matching bracelet with an M charm instead.

"Now we match." She sang, pulling me into a tight hug before moving back and holding me at arm's length. "Now. Show me this car."

"Good idea, why don't you two go out for a drive? For at least like..." He glanced down at his watch, "Three hours." Initially, Tony's suggestion left me confused and slightly concerned as to why he would be happy for Maddie and me, the worlds most irresponsible people, to take the car out for the first time on our own. However, the specificity of his suggested timeframe told me that he had something planned, and getting me out of the building for a few hours was necessary for that plan.

"You sure...?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes at him suspiciously.

"He's sure, come on let's go." Before I had a chance to think, I was being dragged from the living room and towards the garage, an eager Maddie marching ahead of me. She froze as she stepped into the room, pausing to admire the car.

"That. Is. Beautiful." She announced with dramatic flair before rushing forward and climbing into the passenger seat. "Come on, lets go!"

I didn't need persuading, quickly jumping into the driver's seat and turning the key, bringing the engine to life.

"So, where shall we go?" Maddie asked, her attention mostly focused on her Spotify playlist as she searched for the perfect soundtrack to accompany our drive.

"Umm... what's the time?" I had an idea which I knew Mads was going to hate.

"12:25, why?" I grinned. Perfect timing. "Els where are we going?"

"I wanna go to the beach," I announced, drumming my fingers against the steering wheel before making the split decision to turn right down the next street. "We've just got one stop to make first."

"What, the hell, are we doing, at this high school?" Maddie complained, already hating whatever decision had led us here.

"If I'm right, and I always am, we should be right on time..." I watched the front doors of the school, waiting patiently.

"Right on time for what?" Just as she finished her sentence, my timing was proved to be impeccable as the doors swung open, a group of kids leaving the building.

"Who in gods name, is in school on a Saturday morning?" Maddie frowned, leaning forward so the could see out of my window.

"The decathlon team..." I replied simply, that being all I needed to say for her to work out why we were here.

"I hate you." She glared at me, her words blunt. "Why would you want to ruin your birthday like this?" I rolled my eyes, brushing her off as I wound my window down, unclipping my seat-belt so I could lean out of the window slightly.

"Hey losers!" I yelled, catching the attention of the whole group, but more importantly, of Peter and Ned. "Get in, we're going to the beach!"

I grinned at the pair, enjoying the slightly stunned expressions of the rest of their team as they said they hurried goodbyes.

"Did you actually just reference mean girls?" Peter laughed as he approached the car.

"Did you actually just understand that reference?" Maddie asked from beside me, raising a disapproving brow in his direction. We both opted to ignore her comment, much to her disgust.

"You know it. Now, are you coming or what?" I matched Peter's smile, laughing quietly at the awed expression on Ned's face as he admired the car.

"Is this your car?!" He asked in disbelief, opening the back door and climbing in.

"No. I stole it on the way here..." I rolled my eyes at my passengers in the rearview mirror before snorting a laugh. "Birthday present from Tony."

"That's awesome," Peter commented in a stunned whisper.

"It's so awesome." I beamed, pressing my foot into the accelerator and carrying us away.

Despite the fact it was March, the weather had been kind, as though the universe knew that it was my birthday and that I needed this right now. I lay back on the pleasantly warm sand, the sun casting an unusually hot yet welcoming glow over the beach. My eyes were closed, my mind just focusing on the sounds around me. The laughter of children, music from a street performer on the pier, quiet chatter of the people around us, all enjoying the surprise mid-March sun in the same way that I was. This was nice, and I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday. Even Maddie had let loose a little, throwing aside her knee-high socks and wading into the surf alongside Ned.

Admittedly she hadn't been completely fine with Ned splashing her and getting her designer skirt wet, but she'd quickly got over it when he offered to buy her an ice cream as recompense. This was exactly what I needed, after all the drama of the previous months, I just needed normality. For once, my day had been that of a completely normal 16-year-old. Driving with friends, loudly singing along to music, hanging out at the beach and eating street food. I couldn't ask for anything more. My quiet thoughts were interrupted as someone dropped onto the sand beside me, nudging my shoulder and bringing my attention back to real life.

"Hey." My company greeted cheerfully as I pushed myself up into a seated position. "I got you an ice cream. One scoop chocolate, one scoop pistachio... just the way you like it."

"How is it that you know me so well?" I smiled, taking the ice cream gratefully and ruffling his hair.

"Because I'm an amazing friend." He shrugged, stretching out with a smug grin and leaning back onto one arm, his own ice cream in his hand.

"Amazing might be a bit strong..." I mused, looking thoughtfully into the distance as I ate my ice cream. He gawked at me, feigning hurt and wiping an invisible tear from his eye.

"I can prove it." His words were blunt, yet there was a determination in his voice.

"Oh? And how's that?" I was curious now, rolling onto my side and matching his potition as I watched him closely to try and decipher what he was getting at.

"You'll see," I narrowed my eyes at him as he smirked back at me. "Be patient."

Our conversation was soon interrupted as Ned and Maddie rejoined us, Ned's trousers soaked from the ankles to the knees.

"Where are our ice creams?" Maddie demanded with a frown.

"They're at the ice cream van, waiting for you to go buy them." I smiled, taking an exaggerated lick of mine and blowing a kiss to my friend.

"It's your birthday, so I'm going to let your attitude slide this once... Come on Ned, you owe me an ice cream." With that, she turned on her heel with Ned following closely behind. Peter barked out a laugh beside me.

"She has him wrapped around her little finger."

"She has everyone wrapped around her little finger." I corrected, receiving a small nod of agreement. We fell into a comfortable silence, both watching the goings on around us while enjoying our ice creams. I chanced a few glances to the boy next to me, something which I noticed him doing as well when he thought I wasn't looking. Once or twice we locked gazes, offering each other a small smile before turning our attention elsewhere.

"So, any plans for the rest of the day? An extravagant party? A ridiculously expensive meal?" I laughed, shaking my head as I sat up, crossing my legs and turning to face him.

"Not that I'm aware of, I don't really have any plans." I shrugged, not as bothered by that fact as Peter seemed to be.

"You can't have no plans on your birthday!" I laughed at his frown, rolling my eyes and finishing the last bite of my ice cream.

"Well tough, because I have no plans whatsoever."

"Yes, you do." A voice announced from above as Maddie and Ned dropped to sit beside us.

"I do?" I raised a brow in curiosity. This was the first I'd heard of this.

"Yep, Peter and Ned are coming back to yours with us and we're hanging out." She stated simply, taking a lick of her ice cream and batting her lashes innocently at me. I smirked at her as I spotted a chunk of ice cream on the edge of her mouth, something she hadn't noticed yet. I stifled a laugh as Ned reached out to her, presumably aiming to wipe the ice cream from her face, an action which was stopped dead in its tracks as Maddie grabbed his wrist, the whole time not taking her eyes off me.

"Don't. You. Dare." She warned, throwing his hand away and wiping the ice cream off herself. Peter snorted a laugh which I quickly matched, much to the dismay of a horrified looking Ned.

"Okay fine, sounds like as good a plan as any." I suppose if I was going to spend my birthday around people, I might as well spend it around people I like.

"Can we just stop off at my place on the way back? I need to grab a few things." I shrugged, nodding in agreement as Maddie did the same. I swear I noticed a knowing look pass between Ned and Peter, but I chose to ignore it. Nothing was going to bring me down today, not even my own curiosity.

"So what, we're just supposed to sit out here and wait for you?" Maddie complained as Peter and Ned jumped out of the car. We'd just pulled up outside Peter's apartment complex, and whilst I was fine waiting in the car, Maddie was far too nosy to miss snooping around Peter's apartment. He sighed offering an irritated shrug.

"You can come in if it'll shut you up?" He snapped, a playful edge to his voice. Not that Maddie cared, she'd gotten what she wanted.

"How kind of you to invite us inside, come on Els." She hopped out of the car, urging me to follow. Who was I to argue with Madelyn Hogan?

It was obvious Peter was nervous. Whether it was about the unavoidably awkward comments from his aunt, or something else, I couldn't be sure, but he was definitely nervous. I passed through the door as he held it open, Ned and Maddie already ahead of us.

"Hey May." I heard Ned call, already having entered the apartment with Maddie.

"It's nothing special, but you know... it's home." Peter spoke quietly as he directed me through the door and into the small apartment.

He was right, it was nothing special. Yet it was the most special place I'd ever seen. Because he was also right about it being home. It was personal and cosy, warm and inviting. Pictures of Peter as a child hung on the walls, both on his own and with family. One photo showed him beside a man and a woman, held tightly in the woman's arms as the man ruffled his hair. I assumed that must be his parents. I felt a pang of sadness knowing that they would never know who their son had become. We carried on through the apartment to the living room, where a large worn sofa sat covered in cushions and soft throws. It was the kind of sofa you could sleep on, sinking into it as it engulfed you in warmth. A similar armchair sat beside it, a warm white throw slung over the arms, inviting anyone who was near to sit.

"Hey, guys..." I was distracted from my analysis as we were greeted by May.

"Hey May," Peter turned to greet her with a smile before turning back to me and Mads. "This is Maddie and Els, guys this is my Aunt May."

"The famous Aunt May we've heard so much about," Maddie commented, applying her best 'parents love me' smile.

"You must be Madelyn Hogan, I've heard your name mentioned."

"I'm sure not as often as you hear Elizabeth's name..." They shared a knowing look as Maddie jabbed a thumb in my direction and I narrowed my eyes at the both of them.

"It's great to finally meet you." I ignored their comments, shooting the woman a genuine smile and receiving the same in response.

"Oh yeah, I hear about Els near daily, Peter just can't stop talking about her." I shot Peter a smirk, enjoying the way his cheeks had flushed a dark pink at the comment.

"I'm not _always_ talking about you," Peter chimed In with a nervous laugh. "She's kidding."

"I'm not kidding," May whispered with a shake of her head, biting her lip to control her smirk.

"Now that I can believe." The comment came from Maddie who was watching on with extreme amusement from behind me.

"Don't be embarrassed Peter you're right, she _is_ beautiful." I cast a playful smirk and wink at Peter, tilting my head innocently.

"Aw Pete, you think I'm beautiful?"

"Of course... I mean yeah, you're a very attractive... pretty- beautiful girl... Okay! I'm gonna get my things because we have to go!" Peter announced, rushing out of the sitting room and disappearing down the hallway.

"He's so easy to mess with..." May laughed, dropping onto the sofa and gesturing for us to do the same. "So, what are you kids up to this evening?"

"Just heading back to Elizabeth's to watch some movies," Maddie cut in, having taken a seat in the cosy looking armchair. "Els isn't really a party person, even on her birthday."

"Of course, it's you're birthday today. Another thing Peter wouldn't stop talking about." I nodded with a smile, tucking one leg up under my other and resting back against the mountain of cushions.

"Happy birthday! 16, that's a big one huh, get any nice presents?" She was easy to talk to, a welcoming aura surrounding her.

"Uh yeah, actually my brother gave me this car we've been working on for months. It's amazing." I grinned, still extremely pleased with the gift I had received.

"Wow, that's one hell of a birthday present." She raised a brow, seeming surprised by the extravagance of the gift.

"Tell me about it," I laughed. It was at that point Peter re-entered the room, a rucksack slung over his shoulder.

"Okay, I'm ready." He seemed eager to get out, glancing between me and May nervously. Probably worried that we'd been gossiping about him in his absence.

"It was great to meet you May." I wasn't lying, it genuinely was.

"You too Elizabeth, and you Maddie." She walked to the door with us, pausing and shooting us a playful wink as we continued into the hallway. "Have a fun evening kids, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

The drive back to mine had felt strange. Maddie had this weird look on her face and Peter just seemed a bit off. My mind started to turn over the reasons in my head, worrying that perhaps the playful taunts from his aunt May had upset him more than he would let on. Curse Maddie for always being so demanding and making us go in there. Ned was fine though, he was in the back humming along to the radio happily whilst staring out of the window. At least one of us was relaxed.

I pulled into the garage and killed the engine. Maddie had leapt out of the car before I'd even come to a full stop, yelling that she'd be right back and that I should take my time. Something was definitely going on. I shared a look with Peter and Ned, who both seemed eager to avoid eye contact, which only served to make me more suspicious. Just a few moments later, Maddie slipped back through the garage door with a smile.

"What's taking you so long?" She frowned, and I shrugged in response.

"You told me to take my time..."

"Not that much time, come on." She grabbed my arm, pulling me through the door and along the hallway that led to the main entrance hall of the house. She paused as she got to the door, shoving me in front of her and ushering me forward. Reluctantly, I pulled down on the handle and swung the door open, stepping into the room.

"SURPRISE" A chorus of voices called as I stepped through the door, startling me slightly as I physically jumped. Hands came to rest on my shoulders as Maddie entered behind me.

"You didn't think we'd let you get away with not have a party, did you?" She smirked, continuing into the room followed by Peter and Ned. I shot them both a look, receiving innocent smiles in response. Of course they had known.

"Happy birthday kiddo." Tony scooped me up into a hug before setting me down and ruffling my hair.

"Thanks, Tony." I laughed, tidying my hair as best as I could before glancing around the room. How Tony had managed to arrange this without me realising I would never know. There weren't a ridiculous amount of people there, Tony knowing that I wouldn't like celebrating my birthday with a load of strangers. But everyone who was important had gathered, and that was what mattered to me.

"Hey kid," I smiled, instantly recognising the voice that addressed me.

"Nat," I grinned, spinning on my heel and coming to face her. She pulled me into a quick hug, never being one for sentiment or affectionate displays, but often making an exception for me.

"Happy birthday," I thanked her accepting the small neatly wrapped present that she handed to me. "Don't let Tony see this..." She leaned forward, closing the space between us and lowering her voice. "I think 16 is plenty old enough to start learning to protect yourself. Let's arrange a time each week to teach you what you need to know."

I grinned, more than thrilled and excited by the prospect of finally learning to fight. Finally, someone recognised that I couldn't live my life in a bubble. If it was going to be anyone, it would be Nat. She'd spent her life being told that she couldn't do things because she was a woman, and yet she'd done them all anyway. She exuded power and authority, and she could take down any man here in a heartbeat. If that wasn't a role model I didn't know what was.

The next couple of hours were spent consuming too much alcohol (much to Tony's dismay), catching up on what we'd missed, and a lot of point scoring through their usual pastime of 'who has the more impressive story'. Even Peter seemed to be enjoying himself, falling into easy conversation with anyone and everyone, even Tony. Poor Ned looked as though he was about to have an aneurysm, overwhelmed with all of the cool things and people that surrounded him. He hadn't quite gotten used to having me as a friend yet. I'd settled into my usual armchair, a glass of scotch in one hand (which I'd practically had to fight Tony for), and a blanket draped over my shoulders, just watching the scene around me. This was more than I could have asked for. Yet despite this, I found myself longing. Everyone I loved in one room, apart from some of the most important people in my life. All the fighting and heartache had cost me my family. Clint had disappeared, focusing his house arrest time on his family. Sam was also under house arrest, and I hadn't heard a peep from him. Vision was gone, off the map, we hadn't heard from him in a while. But the worst of all was Steve. If there was anyone I would wish to be here, calling me Betty and telling me to watch my language, it was Steve. I know I'd only seen him last just a few weeks ago, and I heard from him every now and then, but his letters had started to come few and far between recently. I knew it was an ungrateful way to think... I had so much, and so many people here who loved me, but I couldn't help wanting more. Despite this, I couldn't deny that one thing was for sure and that was that I was the luckiest girl alive to have a family like mine, wherever they were.

"Hey," A hushed

voice spoke into my ear. I turned to see Peter, leaning over the armchair behind me, a glint of excitement in his eyes.

"Hey." I mimicked his greeting, swivelling in my seat to face him.

"Come with me." I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes slightly in suspicion, yet I immediately rose from my seat without hesitation.

"Where are we going?" I asked as he slipped his hand into mine, heading towards the stairs and grabbing his rucksack on the way.

"Your bedroom, I need to give you your birthday present." I wavered slightly in my step, shooting him a raised brow and a smirk to which he rolled his eyes.

"Pull your mind out of the gutter Elizabeth." I climbed the stairs beside him with a laugh, raising my free hand in defeat. He followed the familiar path to my room, swinging open the door, flicking the light on and pulling me in behind him before allowing his hand to slip out of mine. He closed the door quietly behind us before turning back to me.

"Okay, go sit on your bed, right in the middle." I eyed him warily, unsure of his instructions. He simply smiled and squeezed my hand before leading me in the right direction. "Els, trust me."

So I did. I climbed onto the bed, shuffling over to the very centre before crossing my legs and getting comfortable.

"Okay now close your eyes."

"Peter..."

"Close your damn eyes." He pleaded with a laugh, thanking me once I did as I was told.

I was vaguely aware of the bedroom lights being flicked off as the light behind my eyelids disappeared. The urge to open my eyes was strong, yet I kept them closed, not wanting to ruin whatever surprise he had in store for me. I registered the sounds of him rummaging through his bag in the darkness, fussing around with something before falling silent. I felt his weight on the bed beside me as he took a seat, resting a hand on my arm before speaking.

"Okay, open your eyes."

There weren't really words to describe what I saw as my eyes flicked open. The room was dark around us, everything pitch black besides the pinpricks of light that dusted the walls, the floor, the ceiling, invading every corner in starlight. The dots of light blanketed the room, turning the space into a world of its own, a breathtakingly magical world. Distant planets stretched out before me, constellations painting the ceiling as if it were the night sky. I scanned the scene, tracing the stars from memory as I had done so many times over the years under the real night sky during Tony and I's trips to the country. Living in the heart of the city made that near impossible, the only nighttime glow being that of the orange streetlights outside, blinding us to the beauty of a clear sky. I glanced at the boy beside me, noting the way the light also painted our skin, making us just as much a part of this little universe he had created.

"Peter…" I began, struggling to form a coherent string of words to do any justice to this moment. He watched me silently, his eyes scanning my expression for any kind of tick or sign to tell him how I felt.

"This is… incredible." The last word came out as no more than a whisper, a breathy laugh following it as my hand covered my mouth to contain my awe.

"You like it?" He asked quietly, hopefully.

"I love it. There are literally no words to describe how much I love this." I shook my head in wonder at the boy beside me, struggling to comprehend how someone this wonderful actually existed. A thought hit me at that moment.

"Did you make this?" I turned to face him, a proud smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"Yeah, I did." He confirmed my query, only serving to amaze me even more than he already had.

"How long did this take you?"

"A lot longer than I would care to admit… It's just a beta version, I'm planning on making it a million times better for you, maybe updating some of the hardware inside, I had a few ideas..." He laughed, bowing his head to hide the flush in his cheeks as he realised he was rambling before looking back at me with a timid smile. "But it was worth every second."

I didn't hesitate to throw my arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. I could have stayed in that moment forever, the universe compacted into my little room, casting its light over us where we sat in the middle of my bed.

"Thank you," I whispered into his ear, feeling his arms tighten around me slightly as I spoke.

"You're welcome."

We spent a little while in there, pointing out different constellations to each other with matched excitement, enjoying our time spent alone in our own little world. I knew we couldn't stay there forever, with a party going on in the other room that was specifically for me, which I was currently missing.

"I still can't believe you did all this for me." I smiled at my friend, linking my arm through his and nudging his shoulder with my own.

"C'mon Els, you know I'd do anything for you."

"Yeah... I know." He glanced down at his watch, exhaling in a long sigh before tugging at my arm gently.

"We can't stay here forever, you have a party to attend." I groaned, offering one more look at the faux night sky above me before agreeing. I watched sadly as he turned off the device, switching the main light back on and destroying our little universe. He reached out for my hand, smiling as I gladly took it and hopped up off the bed.

"What the heck is going on? Tony? Peter? Anyone?" I questioned anyone whose name I could think of as I was ushered through the large glass doors and out onto the balcony. Everyone had followed behind quietly, not a single word uttered in response to my curiosity.

"Shut up Els, just be quiet and trust us for once." I scoffed at Peters' telling off, narrowing my eyes at him as he wagged a finger in my direction.

Once everyone was gathered on the spacious balcony, I was shoved to the front, giving me the best view of the city that stretched out below. I glanced around at everyone, who appeared to be taking in the view with excited anticipation. I turned to my brother with a questioning look, to which he merely waved me off, placing his hands firmly on my shoulders and turning me back around.

"Okay, F.R.I.D.A.Y. Now." He received no response from the AI, and it certainly wouldn't have been necessary if he had. He'd draped his arms around my shoulders, holding onto his own arms and resting his chin on my head.

"Happy birthday kid." His voice was quiet, yet somehow I still managed to hear it despite the deafening bangs that had filled the quiet night air. From what I could work out, they had used the roof of one of the taller buildings just a few streets over to set up what was bound to be an incredible light show. I was transfixed, my attention on nothing other than the fireworks that popped and exploded above us. Colourful sparks filled the sky and I gladly allowed my lips to stretch into a wide grin. All of this for me. Honestly, I'm not sure why I expected any less. A year hadn't gone by where Tony didn't pull out all the stops for my birthday. Perhaps he'd been trying to make up for the fact that it was just the two of us, but it wasn't necessary. Because it wasn't just the two of us any more. All around me were the smiling happy faces of my friends and family, people I loved and who loved me and I couldn't ask for anything more.

Unfortunately, the fireworks had to eventually come to an end, and the sky was left dark and quiet once again, nothing more than wisps of smoke and the smell of gunpowder to remind us of what had just happened. I twisted in my brother's arms, wrapping my own around his waist in a tight hug.

"Thank you, Tony, that was amazing."

"Anything for you Els." My attention was quickly pulled elsewhere as a whoop could be heard from nearby.

"Happy birthday Els!" All eyes turned to Peter, whose hand was grasping tightly to a bottle of champagne, a knife in the other. I quirked a brow in amused expectation as he aimed the bottle towards the edge of the balcony, adjusting the knife in his hand.

"This is going to end badly." I laughed, nodding in agreement with Maddie who was currently rolling her eyes.

Surprisingly, she was wrong. Peter swiped the knife up towards the cork that was currently stoppering the bottle, the cork shooting out and down into the dark city streets, taking a small lip of the neck of the bottle with it. Hopefully, there was nobody below or I could smell a lawsuit coming.

"That was sick!" Peter turned back towards me, his mouth forming an awed O before stretching into a grin. It would have been hard to contain the laughter that was fighting to surface, so I didn't. Instead, I slipped out of my brother's embrace and rushed towards a still ecstatic Peter, slipping an arm around his waist in a hug as he draped an arm over me.

"Drink?" I nodded fervently, remaining linked to him as we all made our way back inside.

The party had begun to come to a close about an hour ago, with almost everyone saying their goodbyes and heading home. This had left me, Maddie, Peter, Ned, Happy, Tony and Pepper, all of us occupying varying locations around the lounge. Maddie looked as though she had fallen asleep on the sofa, Ned and Peter risking their lives to draw god knows what on her face along with having a competition to see who could balance the most things on her body without waking her. Thankfully for them, Maddie was a heavy sleeper. Happy and Pepper were in the kitchen, perched at the counter discussing something I couldn't hear, and Tony had disappeared out of the room a few minutes ago, leaving me standing beside the tall glass windows that opened the room to the city before it.

The evening had been amazing, and I was sad to see it end. I always loved birthdays, not because of the gifts but because of the people. One thing I had been lucky to have in my life was a group of people who consistently pulled out all the stops to ensure that I was happy. And I was.

I was suddenly aware of a presence behind me, a hand coming to rest firmly on my shoulder. I glanced to my left to see Tony, his gaze focused out of the window rather than on me. He held a box in his left hand, wrapped simply in brown paper and string, scribbled handwriting on the front stating that the package was addressed to me. I'd recognise that handwriting anywhere.

"Is that from Steve?" He nodded silently, glancing down at the package with a sigh.

"I wasn't going to give it to you..." Despite his words, he handed the box over, keeping his attention on it as I took it from him.

"What changed your mind?" Finally, his eyes flicked up to meet him, a sad smile on his lips.

"It doesn't matter what Cap and I think of each other. I can't let that get in the way of you two... I know how much he means to you." I reached forward, standing on my toes for height and placing a kiss on my brother's cheek. I slipped my hand into his, squeezing his fingers gently.

"Thank you." He simply nodded in response, turning and walking away, leaving me to open the parcel in privacy.

I pulled at the string, the thread untangling and sliding off the package easily, before dropping to the floor. The paper quickly followed, landing in a heap at my feet and revealing a cardboard box, taped shut. Once I managed to get through the tape I was greeted by a small black lacquered box and a piece of paper. I turned my attention first to the paper, dropping to sit with crossed legs and placing the box in front of me before unfolding the paper and beginning to read.

 _Betty,_

 _First of all, Happy Birthday. I'm so sorry I couldn't be there to see you turn 16, that's a big one. If there was any way I could have been there you know I would have but... well you know why I couldn't. But before you start worrying (which I know you probably always do), I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me._

 _I've seen the Ivy Foundation all over the news recently and honestly, it's amazing. I'm so proud of you kid, and your parents would have been too. You're doing amazing things and sometimes I can't get my head around the fact you're only 16._

 _I wanted to give you a quick update on Buck, because I know you'll still be worried about him too. He's doing okay... he's not perfect but he's getting better. He asked me to say happy birthday, and tell you he misses you. Sorry again that I can't tell you where he is, just in case Tony intercepts this letter before you see it._

 _I have a favour to ask... I've written a number on the back of this letter, it's a burner phone I've got hidden away. I need your help._

 _I hope you like your gift. It's only a little something, but I thought it would be perfect for you. It might even be helpful someday._

 _I hope you got everything you could want and had an amazing day, and I can't wait for the day to come when we can catch up again in person._

 _And I'm sorry Betty, for everything that happened. I pray that someday you can forgive me._

 _Yours,_

 _Steve x_

I sniffed, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat during my reading of the letter. I folded the paper, slipping it into my pocket and turning back to the package before me. The small black box was cold to touch, and I turned it over in my hands once before flipping the lid open.

Inside, set against a black velvet cushion was a pendant, attached to a long gold chain. I picked it up, turning the pendant over in my fingers as I admired the craftsmanship. It was light in weight, an unblemished gold that swept from the top left down into a V, before sweeping on over to the right into an intricate twist. Along the right-hand side of the V sat three stones, all equal in size, shape and the deep crimson colour they displayed. It was beautiful. I quickly fastened the clasp behind my neck, allowing the pendant to hang in the centre of my chest, falling to just between my collarbone and my chest.

I had slipped the jewellery box into my pocket and begun tidying the packaging away when I spotted one more item that had gone unnoticed until now. Sitting alone, at the bottom of the box, tucked away in the corner was a keyring. I grinned, shaking my head as I picked it up, the ring looping over my finger, leaving the attached item hanging. A laugh escaped me as the little Captain America shield swung before me. He might be in exile but at least Steve Rogers hadn't lost his sense of humour.

Once Tony and Pepper had long gone to bed, Peter, Ned, Maddie and I had relocated to my room, occupying ourselves with mindless chatter and TV channel surfing. Tony had been more than happy for the three of them to spend the night at ours, throwing in a quick comment about how Peter slept in my bed more than his own anyway, earning a high-five from Maddie and an impolite gesture from me.

I'd chosen not to tell Tony the real reason I had been ignoring Peter when he asked, instead relaying some nonsense about how he had made a joke in poor taste that upset me, and I was ignoring him to teach him a lesson. Yes, it was a poor lie, and I'm 100% sure my brother had seen right through it, but if he knew I was a big fat liar he didn't say anything. Over the years he had learned when and when not to pry in my business. Either way, it didn't matter now, as Peter and I were back and better than ever, as though nothing had ever happened.

I'd claimed the best spot in the room, in the centre of my bed amongst all the pillows, a blanket wrapped around my shoulders and Peter by my side. This was our usual position, Pete's arm had ended up draped around my back out of habit, my head against his shoulder and sharing the blanket. Maddie and Ned had made themselves comfortable on the sofa nearby, Ned acting as a footrest as Madelyn stretching out her legs and propped her feet on top of his thighs. At least they had finally become friends. As it turned out, they had much more in common than they had initially thought.

"Dear god there is nothing on TV... why is there nothing on TV?" My complaints were met with silence from the inhabitants of the sofa, and a quiet laugh from Peter.

"Because it's 1 am, there's never anything on at this time." I narrowed my eyes before turning back to the TV and continuing to flick fruitlessly through the channels. Growing bored of teleshopping and shows about antiques, I eventually settled on the news, where the current story had caught my eye.

"Seriously, when is Spider-man not on the news... I'm beginning to get bored of this loser." Of course, the first comment we would receive from Mads would be a complaint. As usual.

"How dare you, Madelyn Hogan!" I responded with a theatrical gasp, "That is blasphemy! Spider-man is sacred and should be protected at all costs." This time it was Ned who snorted out a laugh, Mads sending me a look that said 'see, I told you so'.

"I didn't realise you were such a Spider-man fan, Els?" Ned commented once he had stopped laughing. I didn't get a chance to respond before Maddie cut in.

"Oh, she's just in love with him because she met him while we were being robbed and they had a 'connection'." She exaggerated the last word, resting her hand on her heart and fluttering her lashes.

"Okay so first, I'm not in love with him, I just thought he seemed like a cool guy; and second, I never said anything about us having a connection..."

"You didn't need to darling, it's all in the eyes." Once again she referred to the fact I apparently bared my soul via my eyes, something I was both unaware of and not in control of. I hushed her by means of a cushion to the head, turning my attention back to the TV, where the presenter was recapping the events that had taken place just a few days earlier.

"Man that's crazy, I can't believe he took on all those guys at once." Peter simply hummed quietly beside me as he focused intently on the TV.

"Hey wait, didn't you guys know that sandwich shop guy pretty well? What was his name again? Danver... Dalmer..."

"Delmar." Peter and I both answered at once. While Peter had spent many years frequenting that shop, I had only begun visiting in the last few months. I had to admit, the sandwiches were good, and it was also the place the four of us had met for the first time. It might have just been a sandwich shop but it had meant a lot to at least 3/4 of the people in this room. Maddie, of course, wasn't overly interested, which surprised and bothered no one. We finished watching the news report in silence. Well... mostly in silence.

"Yeah he helps people but like... he knows he good, you know? I still think spider-man's a cocky asshole."

"No one asked for you opinion Madelyn." She raised a brow in my direction, folding her arms over her chest with a pout, much to the amusement of everyone else in the room.

"Do you think whoever's under that suit is hot?" Peter's eyes had grown wide at Maddie's unexpected question, Ned choking out a laugh for no apparent reason. It was a valid question... we'd never seen his face so who knew. Despite a complete lack of evidence, I didn't need to think of my answer.

"Oh yeah, for sure," Maddie looked at me sceptically, clearly not convinced. "Come on, it's not exactly easy to pull off lycra like that but he sure as hell manages it. Plus... have you seen those abs?" I glanced down at Peter, who was currently snickering at my comment along with Ned, both of them thoroughly amused by the conversation.

"What is up with you two? Wanna let us in on the joke?"

"Oh, no no... there is no joke it's just, you. You're funny El-bell, you just make me happy." His answer didn't convince me, and my scepticism was apparent by my narrowed eyes. None the less, I allowed him to pull me closer, ruffling my hair and squeezing me in a tight hug.

"Excuse me whilst I vomit." I flipped my middle finger at my friend over Pete's head, to which she simply scoffed and hopped up from her seat, making her way to the door.

"I'm heading to bed, come on Ned, I'll show you the way to the guest room on the way to mine." Ned hopped up without question, following her out of the bedroom and sending a quick wave and goodnight over his shoulder.

Peter had slept in the spare bedroom once or twice, but when we had started drifting off whilst watching films almost every night, Tony had reluctantly given up on his strict 'no boys in the bedroom' rule. Since then, he had just stayed with me, in a completely platonic way. It was just nice sometimes, to have someone there, and I had to admit, I had started to feel a little lonely during the weeks I hadn't been speaking to him. But never mind, he was back now, and all was well.

The night air was frosty and nipped my exposed skin, a breeze making the night that much colder. I glanced back through the balcony doors at Peter's soundly sleeping form, his hair ruffled and mouth slightly open. I closed the door with a smile, ensuring I was as wuiet as possible as I pulled my dressing gown tighter around my shoulders, pressing my phone to my ear and listening for the ring. It had only made it through about four rings when the recipient of my call picked up.

"Hello?" I breathed a sigh, instantly recognising the voice on the other end of the line.

"Steve."

—

A/N:

For those of you who are yet to see Endgame, you have an exciting rollercoaster ahead of you, and for those who have seen it, you will understand when I say that following this story (which will continue until either the end of homecoming, or the end of infinity war, as of yet unsure), I will be taking a brief hiatus from Elizabeth's story for some much needed re-grouping and strategising on where I would like to go with it. This is by no means the end of Elizabeth Stark's story, and I hope that it will be able to continue to grow into something exciting in the future.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, which I very much enjoyed writing. As usual, let me know what you think, whether you loved or hated it, and review!

\- Amelie


	13. London Calling

"So wait, what is it you're doing again?" I rolled my eyes, hitching my duffle bag onto my shoulder, straightening my rucksack that had twisted during the movement.

"It's just some publicity thing for this dance wear company in London. There were some photos that we posted from our contemp classes with the foundation and I was wearing some of their clothes, so they got in contact and offered to sponsor the classes." He hummed in response, leaning against the door frame as I continued gathering everything I would need for my trip.

"So what, they're going to give you a bunch of free stuff?" I shrugged, stuffing a bottle of water into my bag and digging out my headphones.

"Yeah I suppose, they're also making a donation towards the running of the classes, and I said I'd model some of the clothing for the website too."

"Look at you, philanthropist, businesswoman, child genius and now model. When will you stop?" I glanced over my shoulder, shooting a wink and a smirk at my brother who was grinning at me.

"Not until I've taken over the world!" I exclaimed, throwing my head back in a menacing laugh for dramatic effect.

"God you're such a loser, get lost." I shuffled towards him, balancing my many bags on my shoulders and arms and placing a quick kiss on his cheek.

"See you in a few days Tony, love you."

"Love you too squirt, have fun." I forced a smile as I turned towards the door. I'd always hated lying to him, but this time it was for good reason. If he knew the truth there was no way he'd let me go, and it was vital that I caught that flight.

"Okay so... if this is over here... then that's... there? No, wait what?" I mumbled to myself and I attempted to work out which way I needed to go to escape the maze that was Heathrow airport. "Taxi, taxi, taxi..."

None of the signs seemed to be leading me where I needed to go, which had left me wandering somewhat aimlessly as other travelers rushed past, knowing exactly where they were going and not hanging about to get there. I hitched my bag higher onto my shoulder, releasing a loud sigh as I backtracked my footsteps for what felt like the millionth time.

"You lost by any chance?" I spun on my heel, coming face to face with a man who looked a little older than me, resting against the handle of his suitcase as he eyed me with amused curiosity.

"Is it that obvious?" I grimaced, just a little bit embarrassed by my current situation.

"Very much so... Where do you need to get to?"

"Uh, I just need to find a cab." He stood up straight, pushing himself off the suitcase handle and moving towards me, an outstretched hand pointing past me and towards a doorway on the left.

"If you head down that way and go left where that yellow sign is, follow that hallway all the way to the end then go right that will take you outside." I nodded along as he spoke, memorising his directions as he relayed them, "Once you're outside, just head to the right towards the car park and then the taxi bay should be right in front of you."

"Amazing," I smiled, releasing a relieved sigh. "Thank you so much you're a life saver. I thought I was going to be walking around this place for the rest of my goddamn life."

"No worries," He regarded me once again, a little closer than before, contemplation on his features. "You look really familiar."

I shrugged, taking a few steps backwards in the direction I'd be shown, offering him a dazzling and thankful smile.

"Just got one of those faces." With that I turned on my heel, eager to get to my final destination as soon as I could.

"Hey no wait... Aren't you Elizabeth Stark." I didn't pause, simply turning and continuing to walk backwards with a laugh.

"Guilty, thanks for the directions stranger!" He didn't get a chance to reply as I slipped around the corner and out of sight. I had more important things to be doing today than signing autographs in an airport. I was suddenly reminded of why I was here, my determination returning as I exited the airport and made my way towards the waiting taxi's.

My phone call with Steve the night of my 16th birthday wasn't a long one, but it is what led to me being where I was right now. Once we'd got past the general catch up, it was time for him to get to what he really wanted.

He hadn't been overly forthcoming about what he was planning, holding back what I imagine was the majority of the important information. However, asking for use of the Stark satellites gave me all the more reason to pry, and after nearly ten minutes of chatting back and forth, I'd managed to coerce a few details, namely that he was in London and that he was working on something HYDRA related. Suffice to say that was all the information I needed, and whilst helping him out with his satellite access, I'd made sure to benefit myself a little in the form of tracking his phone. Yes, it was sneaky but if he was going to sneak around then so was I.

Anyway, as soon as I heard that HYDRA were involved that was all the motivation I needed to book the next flight out of New York, laying in bed that night coming up with exactly what lie I was going to spout to Tony to sate his curiosity.

"You sure this is the right address miss?" The driver peered at me in the rearview mirror, his brow furrowed slightly as we turned down the small road, lined either side with terraced houses. At the far end of the road stood a tall block of apartments, looking very worse for wear and run down. I could understand why the driver might be suspicious about a 16 year old American girl with Balenciaga luggage turning up here. But according to my phone, and the handy dandy Stark satellites currently orbiting the Earth, this was exactly where I needed to be.

"Unfortunately, yes it is." The car rolled to a stop beside the curb, the driver offering me one last confused look as I handed over the cash and slipped out of the car, sending a quick thanks back to him before closing the door behind me.

I reached down and gathered up my bags, heading towards the building all the while glancing intermittently at my phone, which was currently relaying the location that I was heading towards. If I were anybody else right now I'd be questioning all of the decisions that had led up to this, as well as the fact I was currently using satellites to track a burner phone. However, seeing as I had helped with part of the programming for those satellites, I had every faith that they were taking me exactly where I needed to be.

The door creaked as I pushed it open, a faint smell of urine crinkling my nose in disgust. Of all the places in the world, why here? None-the-less, I continued on, breezing past the death trap of an elevator and opting instead for the stairs. It didn't take me long to get to the 4th floor, though my bags had begun to ache my arms. That one was my fault for being the type of person who always overpacks for short trips, although I hadn't been sure what I needed, meaning I'd packed everything just in case.

I found myself thinking that at least the fourth floor corridor didn't smell like pee... small victories I suppose, though I did still tread carefully as I made my way along the row of doors, finally pausing as I got to where my phone was telling me I needed to be. Apartment number eleven.

I took a breath, steeling myself as I reached up and rapped my knuckled against the wooden door, the sound echoing eerily along the empty corridor. I got the feeling that this apartment building was no longer occupied, and hadn't been for a little while now. Whilst I normally relished in silence, right now I was finding it nothing but unsettling, glancing between the corridor and the apartment door as I waited for a response.

I had just raised my hand to knock again when the door swung open, a sigh of relief leaving me as I came face to face with the occupant.

"Hi Steve."

"Elizabeth Maria Stark you better get explaining yourself real quick." I had slipped under his arm and into the apartment before he could stop me, dropping my bags with a thud as I scanned the room, my nose crinkling in mild disgust.

"What happened Steve? Hilton was all booked up?" He seemed thoroughly unamused by my comment, his jaw clenching as he folded his arms over his chest.

"It's a bit hard to book into a hotel when you're a wanted man."

"You've always been a wanted man to me, Steve." I batted my lashes, dropping into a slightly unsteady looking chair with a smile.

"Stop screwing around Els what the hell are you doing here?" Well okay, no fun banter between us today then. I shrugged, leaning back in the chair with a sigh.

"I'm here to help."

"No." I breathed a disbelieving laugh, shaking my head.

"You can say no all you like, I'm already here and I'm not leaving." He crossed the room, dropping to crouch before me and slipping his hands into mine.

"C'mon Els don't do this. I can't ask you put yourself in danger to help me." I squeezed his hands, a soft smile on my lips.

"You don't need to ask... Look, I know better than anyone what HYDRA have done, which only makes me more determined to do something about them. If I can help in any way, I will. I'm not planning on running into any life threatening situations I just thought I might be able to help somehow... tech support maybe?" He bowed his head with a laugh, rising to his feet with my hands still in his. He regarded me for a moment with tired eyes, eventually relenting with a shake of his head.

"Tech support." I raised my hands in defeat as he jabbed a stern finger at me, quirking an expectant brow. "You stay in the car."

"I wont move an inch." I moved my fingers to draw a cross over my chest, an innocent smile on my lips.

"You're a nightmare, Betty. If your brother finds out he's gonna kill me."

"Then we better not tell him..." He shook his head in disbelief, rubbing his eyes in frustration before dropping onto the slightly dusty looking sofa. It was at that point, possibly the least convenient time as usual, that my phone buzzed.

"Who's that? It's not Tony is it?" I quirked a brow at his slightly panicked tone before shaking my head.

"No it's just a friend, Peter." I turned my attention back to my phone, typing out a response to the message, well aware that Steve was watching me closely.

"Peter who's just a friend huh... Where's he from? How did you meet him?" I dropped my phone into my lap with wide eyes.

"Jesus christ Steve, could you perhaps not?"

"C'mon tell me, I'm just curious!" I pulled one leg under me, wobbling the rickety chair a little as I moved but retaining my balance.

"Uh... I dunno he's from Queens, we work together for the Ivy Foundation and some other projects and he's doing some internship thing with Tony." My reply was nonchalant, and I offered a halfhearted shrug as I reclaimed my phone as it had just buzzed once more.

"Peter Parker?" My fingers froze over the screen, my eyes narrowing slightly before I regained my impassive expression.

"Yeah, how did you know that?" I could see the panic as he turned over his answer in his head, realising that he'd made a big mistake.

"Oh... uh I dunno I must have seen something about the internship somewhere." I appeared to think, breathing out a sigh as I shook my head.

"No I don't think anything's been reported on the internship." It was blunt, I know, but if people were going to continue to lie to me, I wasn't going to accept it blindly anymore.

"Oh well, maybe you mentioned him, in Paris." I hadn't.

"Yeah maybe..." He quickly moved the subject away from how he knew Peter's name, turning it back to me.

"So how well do you know this kid?" I shrugged, slightly bored of this conversation now I knew I was being lied to.

"Pretty well. What's with all the questions?"

"Just curious about what kind of boys my Betty is hanging out with, that's all."

"Sure... you might as well lie to me too, everyone else is." I turned away from him, sinking back in the chair with a huff. Yes I was being childish but there would always have been a point at which I'd be sick of everyone lying to me, and by the looks of it, this was that point. He nudged my shoulder with his own, his brow knitted into a frown.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Really? He was going to play dumb, act like he didn't know what I was talking about. Fine, whatever.

"Peter and Tony are both hiding things from me, so everyone else might as well lie too."

"Why do you think they're hiding something?" He didn't seem concerned by the revelation that I wasn't a stupid as people seemed to think, simply curious as to what I thought was going on.

"Because I literally heard them talking about me not finding out their secret... and Tony's been weird with me for weeks now. Neither of them are exactly subtle, neither are you." With the amount of times I'd rolled my eyes recently, it was a surprise they hadn't rolled straight out of my head.

"If they're hiding something I'm sure they're doing it for a good reason." Was everyone following the same script or something? Was everyone in on this big secret that only I was in the dark about?

"Yes. That's what everyone keeps telling me." He draped an arm over my shoulder, pulling me closer and forcing me to look at and listen to him, as much as I wanted to do the opposite right now.

"One day, you're going to find out all the answers to all your questions... and that's going to be a terrifying day for every person who loves you. Why do you think people keep secrets from you Els? Because they know you can never leave things alone. I think everyone's got this idea where as long as they're not the one who tells you, that means they don't have to feel responsible for whatever stupid thing you do because of it."

"So I'll just keep doing stupid things of my own accord and you can all blame me?" He pondered my question for a moment, frowning with a short shrug.

"Yeah... pretty much." I slapped his arm playfully, shaking my head with a laugh. It looked as though it would be harder than I thought to convince everyone that I wasn't just out to get myself killed, but maybe I didn't have to. I'd never been one to let something hold me back, not when I knew I was perfectly capable of discovering the truth by my own means. They could all lie and hide as much as they wanted but it was foolish of them to believe that I wouldn't find out eventually.

"So... where are we going?"

The car continued to trundle on through the English countryside, rolling green fields and trees zipping past the window as we travelled through the narrow country lanes. I couldn't argue with the fact that it was very pretty, a fresh and welcome change to the towering buildings of the city I had grown used to. I imagine it was quiet out here at night, no traffic or blaring car horns to keep you awake, though after years of living with it I'd grown used to the noise, finding it somewhat soothing. I thought that perhaps I might find the silence a bit unsettling now.

"It's an old disused military facility that was active during the second world war. It's been abandoned since the war ended but from what I've managed to gather, there were a few years in the 70's and then again in the early 2000's when a small group of HYDRA scientists called it home." I nodded in understanding, my full attention on Steve as he spoke.

"So, what are you hoping to find there? It's abandoned now, right? I thought HYDRA were pretty much non-existent since DC..." He sucked in a breath, shaking his head with a solemn look.

"I thought so too, but my intel is telling me they're still lingering. I don't know exactly what they're working on but from what I've found so far it looks like they've dug up some old project from way back when, called Project Genesis."

"Project Genesis? What a stupid name. So you don't know what they were doing?" He shook his head, eyes remaining on the road as we turned down a small lane, the uneven road bouncing us in our seats as we drove.

"Not a clue, that's what I'm hoping to find today."

"Cool... so, if you're just searching around for files, why do I have to stay in the car?" I knew it was cheeky, but I think I had a point. What danger was there in rifling through a filing cabinet.

"Because, you lied to your brother, used your satellites to track my phone and ran away to England. If that tells me anything it's that you're spontaneously reckless, and that terrifies me. If anything happens to you I'm gonna have to face your brother... and I don't feel like dying yet." I rolled my eyes, slapping his arm playfully with a laugh.

"Fiiiiiine." I dragged out the word with a groan, folding my arms over my chest and pouting. "But just for the record... I'm like, really good at sneaking around and looking through files. I do it in Tony's office all the time. Sometimes even Pepper's, depending on what I'm snooping for."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

"Suit yourself old man."

Steve had been right about one thing. This place was definitely abandoned. The grass had grown wild and long, covering most of the buildings and bunkers in a blanket of nature. Ivy clung to the walls still standing, leaving very little of the grey stone visible beneath the leaves. There didn't seem to be much in the way of life around the base, aside from a squirrel that had frozen in its journey along the wall to stare at us, before it zoomed off once again to the top of a nearby tree.

It didn't look as though anyone had been there for a long time, the air quiet and the ground undisturbed. If Steve had hoped to find something here I was afraid he might be sorely disappointed.

"So you found nothing?" I looked at him in disbelief as he shook his head, "Literally not one single file?"

"Nope, they must have cleared the place out a while ago." He seemed tense, his grip on the steering wheel turning his knuckles white as he pushed himself back against his seat. He was lying. He'd never been good at hiding it, he was too good for that. Despite knowing this, I accepted his answer quietly and relaxed back into my seat. I didn't need him to tell me the truth, I could find it for myself.

"You hungry? I'm hungry..." I glanced up from my phone, considering his question before nodding.

"Yeah, I could eat. What do you have in mind?" He hopped up from his seat, rifling through his bag and producing a wallet, before swiping his jacket off the back of a nearby chair.

"I spotted this Chinese takeout just a few streets over, I'll take a walk there and grab us something." My stomach grumbled in longing of the Chinese that was now all I could think about. My grin and squeal of delight was all the answer he needed as he slipped out the door with a laugh, sending a wave over his shoulder and letting me know he wouldn't be too long and that I should stay put. Where did he think I would be going? For a nice night-time stroll around the abandoned apartments. No thanks.

Instead, I occupied myself roaming around the rooms, checking out the dusty bed that Steve had somehow managed to make look moderately presentable, and the bathroom that looked like it could use a few gallons of bleach. A pang of sadness hit me at the realisation that this was the type of place that Steve was probably forced to accommodate recently. It's not as though he could go anywhere unrecognised, and being a wanted man wasn't exactly an easy life.

I had just finished a slight coughing fit brought on by the dust that had emerged from the curtains as I'd accidentally brushed past them when I spotted a familiar sight. Poking out from under the clothes that filled Steve's duffle was the corner of what appeared to be a manila folder, and I was across the room pulling it out of the bag in a matter of seconds.

The edges were worn and dogeared and the colour had begun to fade, but I could still make out the words that were printed over the front.

 _PROJECT: GENESIS_

Surprisingly I wasn't angry, but more irritated by this revelation, yet another thing I had been lied to about. I'd been in Steve's bag before our trip to the military facility and this had not been there, meaning the place must not have been as cleared out as he'd led me to believe. I steadied my breathing, flipping the folder shut and jumping to my feet. I made for the door, swiping Steve's car keys on passing and heading out into the dingy hallway, only one mission on my mind as I exited the building.

The journey felt much shorter than it had earlier in the day, most likely due to the fact I was driving this time, rather than being the bored passenger. I didn't have time to focus on the English countryside like I had last time, the world outside of the car too dark to see it even if I wanted to. But I didn't want to. All I wanted was to get back to that facility and see for myself whatever Steve had been keeping from me. Yes, I knew I was being reckless and I was most certainly going to get in a lot of trouble for this little stunt, but I didn't have a choice. If all I was going to get from my friends and family were lies then I needed to go out and find answers myself, even if it did mean being reckless.

I let the car roll to a stop, killing the engine and allowing everything to fall into silence. My breathing, though soft, was audible as I sat in the vehicle, eyes scanning the space around me to check for any signs of life. It was eerily quiet, and I momentarily regretted my decision to come here alone at night, until I remembered why I was doing it and pulled myself together. I was Elizabeth Maria Stark. I hadn't been afraid of the dark since I was 6 and I wasn't about to let a creepy abandoned army base get the better of my nerves of steel.

Clearly my nerves of steel weren't as solid as I'd have hoped, as I practically leapt out of my seat upon hearing my phone buzz from where it sat in the center console. Breathing a laugh, I unlocked the screen and read the message that it now displayed.

 _Why does your Snapchat maps say you're in England?_

Oh hello Peter. Nice to speak to you, I'm well, thanks for asking. I frowned as I typed out my response.

 _Are you stalking me?_

Of course he was, he was always stalking me. It had become a running joke of ours to check each other's snapchat maps and come up with bizarre and extravagant reasons as to why we would be wherever we were at the time. Of course... this time didn't warrant jokes, only curiosity which was understandable. Yet, at the same time a bit annoying, due to the fact I had no valid excuse for where I was right now. His response came quickly after mine had sent.

 _I'm just observant... explain please?_

Just observant, sure.

 _It's just work stuff, super boring you wouldn't care to hear it._

It would never be enough to sate his curiosity, I knew that. But now really wasn't the time for his quizzing. I needed to get inside this place and snoop, hopefully finding something that Steve hadn't earlier.

 _Just work stuff? At what google tells me is a disused military base? During late evening?_

Sometimes I wished he wasn't as curious as he was, but then it would be a bit hypocritical of me to get annoyed about it when I was just as bad, if not worse.

 _It's no longer disused... Why, when do you visit disused military bases? In the morning? That's a stupid time to do it._

I attempted to throw in a little light humour to ease the tension, but clearly he wasn't interested as his next message brushed over the joke completely.

 _El-Bell... is everything ok?_

Yes, I felt guilty, because no everything was not ok. I was in England, in the middle of the countryside at a disused military facility that was once inhabited by HYDRA, the organisation that stole my childhood from me and destroyed the lives of so many people I loved. I was alone and searching for answers that no one else would give me because they didn't trust that I wouldn't use that information in the wrong way and get myself hurt. I was lying to my brother about where I was, lying to my best friend about what I was doing and I'd gone behind Steve's back to get here. Everything was as far from ok as it could be right now.

 _Everything's great Peter._

I felt guilty as I typed the words, but that didn't stop me from hitting send. Again, his response was quick.

 _Alright then, keep your secrets._

My hand covered my mouth to keep it quiet as I snorted out a laugh. I had honestly never met a bigger nerd that I loved more in my life that Peter Parker.

 _To most, that would appear to be a normal, common sentence. But I am not most and so I am 100% sure you were just quoting Frodo from Lord of the Rings._

I hit send, dropping my phone and picking up the folder I had taken from Steve's bag, opening it up and flicking through the files.

By the looks of it, most of the information presented had been redacted, leaving me with the bare minimum to try and work out what this Genesis project was. I furrowed my brow as I scanned the pages, skipping over a few words that I didn't understand which I assumed to be names of various drugs that were used. All-in-all, it was a wildly unhelpful source of information, that was until I reached the final page. The words were faded but from what I would still read, it looked like a personal profile, and by some miracle, not a word was redacted. Thankfully, German had been one of the languages I'd been interested in learning, which made the reading of the file a million times easier.

 _BETREFF 2284_

 _Alter: 3_

 _Reset beobachtungen:_

 _14/07/2006 - Das subjekt hat nach einer sekundären Studie nur sehr wenig Veränderungen order Verbesserungen gezeigt. Ist konform geblieben und zeigt wenig angst. Vitals bleiben stabil. Festigkeit etwas erhöht, aber keine signifikanten Ergebnisse. Schlagen sie vor, dass sie mit den dritten Studienberatungen fortfahren und die tägliche Dosis auf 5mg erhöhen._

From what I could tell, this profile offered a whole load of nothing. Yes, it told me they were running tests on a three year old which was insane and inhumane, but that was nothing new from HYDRA. Other than that, it told me squat. No clue as to who this child was, or what tests they were running, or what they were hoping to gain from the whole thing. This file had left me with nothing but more questions, which is what drove me to drop the file and exit the car, taking the first few cautious steps towards the building. A quick glance at my phone showed that I had a reply to my earlier message, a reply that had me suppressing a grin.

 _Elizabeth you're my dream girl._

I paused in my step, sending back a quick response.

 _I'm everyone's dream girl._

I waited to hear back before disappearing inside the building. I didn't have to wait long.

 _Very true. Lord of the rings/hobbit movie marathon when you're home?_

Obviously...

 _You're on._

I slipped my phone into my pocket, the sudden lack of any light source panicking me slightly as I pulled it back out again, switching on the torch and slipping through the same slightly ajar door that Steve had entered via earlier.

The room smelt damp, and a heaviness hung in the air that made it hard to breathe. Or perhaps that was just down to my nerves. My footsteps were slow as I navigated the messy and overgrown hallways, toes tripping on vines and litter as my torch illuminated a pathway. I found myself questioning why I'd come here, especially alone and at night, wondering whether this would be worth the trouble. Maybe I would find nothing... I'm sure that if there had been more relevant files then Steve would have taken them too. Though maybe he didn't pick up on something I would, a word or a phrase that he didn't recognise but that would mean something to me. Or maybe I'd leave this place empty handed and have the uncomfortable experience of explaining to Steve why I'd stolen the car and snuck out here all for nothing.

I froze, sucking in a panicked breath as a pile of papers rustled at my feet, betraying the presence of a large brown rat who quickly hurried away from my feet and into the darkness. A shiver down my spine caused me to shudder, though my feet continued to carry me further into the facility non-the-less. A dirty sign on the wall to the left told me that I was approaching offices one through four to my right, and the administration facilities on the left. That sounded promising.

Giving the door a gentle nudge, I slipped through and into the room, met with an overwhelming amount of filing cabinets, leaving me wishing for computers. A puff of breath left my lips as I surveyed the room, steeling myself for the arduous task to come. But if I wanted answers, there wasn't a drawer I could afford to leave untouched.

It had taken me a while to even find the drawer itself, the sub-par filing system meaning the dates were all out of order, and I'm assuming by the fact most of the files were still here but shoved in the wrong location, someone had taken what they needed and left without a thought. I'd rummaged through a countless number of drawers before I got to this one, and crouching before the cabinet labelled 2005-2007 I found myself praying that something of use would reveal itself.

The drawer opened with a rusted screech and I winced at the sound, checking my surroundings to see if anyone had heard, despite the fact I was there alone. Identical manilla envelopes filled the space, each one placed in date order from front to back, which would make my job substantially easier. I kept thinking back to the file Steve had found and the information that lay within it. Whatever the Genesis project set out to do, I couldn't see it being anything good, and my curiosity was urging me to find out more. Who was this subject 2284? What were they testing and what was this poor three year old being dosed with? It hadn't slipped my attention that I was also three years old the year of the file, and still in the hands of HYDRA at that point. I wasn't oblivious to the fact that all signs pointed towards that three year old test subject being poor little baby Elizabeth. At least from what I read it seemed like whatever they had been trying to do hadn't worked. Not yet, anyway.

I didn't know much about what happened to me while I was with them, the details of that being something Tony had always failed to mention. SHIELD hadn't been much help getting answers either, with all the documents they had gotten hold of being the highest level of classified, which was another worrying fact in my opinion. What was in those files that needed to be hidden?

My fingers paused in their search, hovering over a filed labelled with the date 25/10/2006, just a few months after the Genesis file. Although it wouldn't have caught my eye if it weren't for the numbers scrawled in the top right corner: 2284.

Pulling the file from its spot, I rose to my feet and crossed the room to sit at a small metal table, a wonky looking chair offering a slightly risky seat beside it. I eyed the chair warily, instead opting to perch on the table as I flipped the file open. The first few pages didn't offer much insight at the current moment, listing off medical charts, vitals and general health information, all of which was - thankfully - in English this time. At least if the subject was me, everything looked normal so far. It wasn't until I got to page five that things began to get interesting.

 _While subject 2284 appeared to show no reaction or enhancement following trials 1 and 2, it appears trial 3 has made a breakthrough. We are unable, as of yet, to discern what form her abilities have taken, though it would seem to manifest during dream states._

My stomach had started to feel a little queasy at this point, hands shaking in response to either the cold or my nerves, I couldn't discern which. Despite this, I continued reading.

 _Subject has complained of nightmares, detailing events that she could not possibly foresee, and knowledge she could not have obtained._

 _Initial assessment: abilities including foresight, obtaining of knowledge during sleeping state._

I flipped the folder closed, taking a few deeps breaths to steady my racing heart as I digested what I'd just read. I didn't need to wonder any more because this had told me the truth I'd been looking for. There was no doubt in my mind that subject 2284 was me. What with all the weird dreams I'd been having recently, there was a reason they felt so real. What I was supposed to do with that knowledge, I didn't know.

Tucking the folder under my arm I hopped off the table, glancing around at the mess of open drawers and folders I'd left in my wake. It might have taken me a while but at least I'd found something, and so I made for the door, eager to return to the apartment and wave my finding's in Steve's face.

I allowed myself a satisfied smirk, mostly to mask the panic inside of me, as I retraced my steps back to the door I had entered the building through, slipping out into the cold night air with a sigh. Everyone seemed to think I was incapable, that all I did was got myself into trouble and so deserved to be kept in the dark. Well at least, if nothing else, my actions tonight might show them that I wasn't going to sit still and look pretty, idling away my days as their lies grew. I wanted to know the truth, and I was going to find it with or without their help.

I allowed myself one more flick through the folder, skimming over the words on the pages as I crossed the space between the building and the car, my attention transfixed as I ignored my surroundings. Closing the folder once again, my hand dug into my pocket, searching for the car keys I had stashed there. My fingers had just met the cold metal when my breath was thrown from my lungs, strong arms tightening around my chest and my neck as my back pressed against a solid surface.

"Nice to see you again little one." I choked for air as the voice rasped into my ear, hot breath against my neck sending a shock of panic through me. So much for foresight, I certainly hadn't seen this one coming.

I racked my brain, thinking back to the few combat lessons I'd had with Steve, just for fun a couple of years ago. While there wasn't a whole lot I could do to fight back at this point, I had to try, and so I summoned what energy I could find and flung my head back, my skull connecting with my attackers chin and causing his grip to release, only slightly but enough for me to wriggle free.

Unfortunately, being so surprised that had actually worked had left me open to the fist that was heading in my direction too fast for me to react to. I felt the painful force against my cheek before I could process what was happening, my hands flying up to protect my face too late as I stumbled backwards. A second fist swung for me, missing my face and connecting with my chest, the necklace Steve had gifted me pressing hard against my skin. No doubt that would leave an interesting bruise. The hit forced me backwards, my heel catching a rock as I begun to fall, waiting to hit the ground but halted before I did so. My attacker's hand gripped my arm tightly, yanking me back to my feet with such a force that I felt the bone in my wrist crack as stumbled towards him, releasing a cry of pain in the process. Despite the crack, his grip didn't loosen, helping him to twist my arm uncomfortably behind my back, pinning me helplessly in place.

My pitiful attempt to escape this position only led to a lightning bolt of pain from my shoulder to my hand, tears stinging my eyes as he moved to face me, still holding my arm firm behind my back.

"You can run all you like but it won't help. It was always inevitable that we'd find you again." His free hand moved to my face, brushing a strand of hair away from my cheek and tucking it behind my ear, an action that I had always found comforting and affectionate now marred by an experience that was sure to traumatise me for a while at leasti. It made me angry, that he had ruined one thing that comforted me, the thing that Peter always did and that I longed for. Despite my pathetic and helpless position, I could feel the anger bubbling inside me, forcing its way to the surface as he released a low laugh.

"It's no use kid. You can't fight the cause that created you." His words rung in my ears, sending a wave of sickness over me as I recalled my dreams. The phrase sent a chill through me as I heard it for what felt like the millionth time, only this time I wasn't dreaming. Maybe he was right, perhaps I couldn't fight the cause that created me... but that didn't mean I wouldn't try.

I pushed back against him, his grip on my arm slipping as the action caught him off guard. I vaguely heard a voice behind us, someone calling out my name, frantic and panicked, but it didn't really register as I felt a force building against my chest. I didn't remember actively doing anything to cause it, but there as no doubting that the energy that threw the man about ten feet in the opposite direction had originated from me. Unfortunately, it seemed that I was not immune to whatever had caused the force, myself also thrown backwards at the same time. I felt my breath pushed from my chest again as I hit the floor, a sharp pain in my head turning everything dark.

A soft groan made its way from my chest as soft light poured through my eyelids. The throbbing sensation in my head only increasing as I attempted to open my eyes. Shifting my weight onto my elbow, I pushed myself up into a seated position, quickly removing all weight from my left arm as a sharp pain shot from my wrist to my shoulder. Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that.

Having mostly regained consciousness, I assessed my surroundings, the quiet beeping from my right alerting me to the fact I was in a hospital. I glanced down at myself, noting the crisp white sling that held my left arm steady against me, and the matching cast that adorned my wrist on the same arm. It could have at least been my right arm, so that I could get out of schoolwork, but no. I didn't even want to know what my face looked like, but judging from the patches of numbness which merged with the aching and stinging, I could take a guess that I wasn't looking my best right now.

God I had been stupid. What the hell was I thinking? I hadn't been thinking, that was the problem. That was always the problem. My heart leapt momentarily as I considered Tony, who was bound to have heard about this by now, and if not, he would soon, and then he would kill me. And Steve, god he was going to be so mad. I made a silent resolution to start thinking things through before I did them. I knew it probably wouldn't happen, but at least I could say I thought about it.

I sat there for about ten minutes, my throat dry and my head still pounding, just thinking over everything that happened. The file. Who knows what had happened to the file but it was low on my list of worries right now. Top of the list was whatever had happened to my attacker. How had I thrown him back like I did? Whatever had happened, I pushed it aside for consideration at a later date as the door to my room opened.

I held my breath as I locked eyes with my brother, who had paused in the doorway, his jaw tensed as his fingers gripped the handle with white knuckles. I waited, for him to shout, for him to scream at me and tell me how stupid I was. But it never came.

"They've cleared you to leave. I've got you some new clothes, I'll help you change and we fly out in an hour." I only nodded silently, my gaze dropping to my hands as I forced my breathing to steady.

There had never been a time when I'd felt like a child around Tony. Even when I was much smaller and was most definitely a child he had never treated me as such. Yet now, as I stood here, allowing him to assist the awkward and painful process of changing my clothes, I'd never felt more like a child. He didn't look at me with anger or rage, just pity... and disappointment. It stung, more than any of the wounds I'd suffered and I longed for it to end. I needed him to pull me into his arms, tell me I was going to be ok and that he wasn't mad, but that didn't happen. Despite his silence, I couldn't stop the questions that bubbled up in me.

"Where's Steve?" His hands wavered as he helped my arm through the sleeve of my hoodie, swallowing thickly before continuing.

"He's gone." That was it, that was all I'd get from him on the subject and I knew it, but it didn't stop me.

"It's not his fa-" I didn't get a chance to finish as he cut me off with a sharp no.

"I don't wanna hear it." Fine, I had plenty of other questions, one which has just occurred to me as I looked down.

"Where's my necklace? I frowned, my uninjured hand reaching up to trace the dark bruise that now sat in its place.

"You mean the one Rogers gave you? I've got it." My brow furrowed, unsure as to why he would bother to confiscate that of all things.

"Can I have it back?" He reached for the zip of my hoody, securing it up to my chest and taking a step back. His eyes assessed me for a moment before he grabbed my sneakers, gesturing for me to sit, which I did with no resistance.

"Not until I've worked out if it's safe." Now I was confused, even more so than before. How on earth could a necklace be dangerous?

"Why wouldn't it be safe?" He finished lacing my right shoe, moving on to the left without so much of a glance up at me.

"Because if it can throw a full grown man 10 feet then what else can it do?" A sudden moment of realisation washed over me.

"It was the necklace? It wasn't me?" This made him look, sending me a confused frown.

"Why would you think it was you?" When I didn't answer, merely offering a shrug, he continued. "Apparently it's some tech that our pal T'challa's little sister came up with. Gathers energy from a force and translates it back out. The guy who attacked you must have hit it real hard, which makes sense looking at the bruise it left. The necklace directed the energy back out, throwing you both backwards."

"Steve would never give me something dangerous, you know that. He gave it to me to protect me..." The second part I mused to myself, not really directing it as a question for Tony, however he still answered.

"You shouldn't have needed protecting. Get up." He tied the bow on my laces with a hard tug, rising to his feet and gathering my things. Not wanting to annoy him any further, I slipped off the bed, standing awkwardly still as I watched him hurry about the room. Once he'd gathered everything, slinging one small bag over my good shoulder, he head for the door, my footsteps following his in silent compliance.

I drifted off within the first five minutes of our flight home, making myself as comfortable as I could with my aching arm on one of the larger sofas. Tony had occupied the chair beside the table, pulling out his laptop and tapping away.

Unfortunately my nap didn't last as long as I'd have hoped, the ache in my shoulder rousing me after about half an hour. Rolling awkwardly onto my side gave me a good view of Tony, still seated in the same position, though his laptop had been replaced with a glass of whiskey. The stress was practically rolling off him in waves, and a pang of guilt hit me.

How could I have been so selfish? All I'd been thinking about was myself and my incessant need to know it all. Had I taken a second to think about anyone else I would have realised how completely and utterly selfish I had been. In the same way that Tony was all the family I had, I was all he had, and I could have forced him to suffer losing the last member of his family all because I couldn't leave well enough alone.

Tears stung at my eyes as I swept my legs off the sofa and climbed ungracefully to my feet. I dragged a blanket with me, which must have been kindly draped over me once I fell asleep, using my good arm to pull it back over my shoulders and leaving it to flow behind me like a cape as I made my way to my brother. I could feel the lump forming in my throat as I walked, the tears that had threatened, now falling with abundance in tiny rivers down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry Tony." My tears dripped from my chin, my hand attempting to dry my skin with little success. I ignored the ache in my shoulder and the shooting pain in my wrist, the dull thud in my head returning at full force along with my tears.

I could hear him sigh, his hand blurry through my tears as he pushed his glass away, holding his arms out towards me in beconing. I didn't hesitate to accept, climbing onto the chair with him, my legs draped over his has he moved to hold me in a way that didn't agitate my injuries.

I knew he was mad at me, and I'm sure I would face that wrath in due course, but most of all he just seemed sad, and that was much worse. Yet, although I knew he was disappointed in me, the crappy sister that I was, he still held me. He still hushed my cries and whispered that it was going to be ok. And despite what I had done, he held me tight and reassured my anxieties until I drifted off, a deep and dreamless sleep finally claiming me.

—

Notes:

(Translated German: Subject has shown very little change or enhancement after secondary trial. Has remained compliant and shows little fear. Vitals remain stable. Strength enhanced slightly but no significant results. Suggest moving on to stage three of trials and increasing daily dosage to 5mg.)

Apologies to any German speakers out there if this is all wrong, I used google translate and we all know it's awful. Anyway, hope you enjoyed and please review!

\- Amelie


	14. Aftermath

I'd claimed the large sofa that sat at home in the centre of the sun room, tall windows overlooking the ocean as its waves lapped over the yellow sands below. It was warm where I sat, late morning sunlight filtering through the delicate white curtains that framed the windows, entirely for show rather than usefully shielding the room as curtains normally would. But I didn't mind, the more sun the better. Perhaps a bit of a tan might help cover the bruises that painted my face in mottled patches, only getting darker and more prominent as the days went on.

Tony hadn't wasted a moment in getting my bags packed and shipping me off to the beach house in Southampton. The place had always been one of my favourites, but I had to admit, being on house arrest had made it somewhat less of a delightful experience than visiting here normally was. Nevertheless, I'd spent my first two days here making the most of the sunshine, mostly lounging in this sun room, eating snacks and listening to music. As house arrests went, this was probably one of the better ones.

I had tried to get some work done connecting with the satellites to push forward with the plans, but every time I so much as glanced at the wonderfully named Project Clarify, all I could think of was how mad Peter was going to be when he found out what I did. There was absolutely no doubting that he cared deeply about me as a friend, and he'd always been extremely keen on me keeping out of any superhero business that had the possibility of showing up, including whatever my brother got involved in. The thought of him lecturing me about what I should and shouldn't do, and how I was reckless and stupid was bottom on my list of things I wanted to do this week, or any week for that matter. This thought is what had led to my current situation, lounging in the sunshine, phone on 'do not disturb' and the windows open to the sounds of the gentle waves on the beach below. It was bliss. But no good thing is truly made to last.

"Elizabeth Maria Stark," I squeezed my eyes shut, crinkling my nose as my serenity was shattered by the musical voice of my darling brother. "How have your first two days of jail treated you? You look far too happy and comfortable to me."

I chanced a peek up at him through one eye, not liking the raised brow, folded arms and somewhat sassy popped hip he was presenting me with. Snatching up a cushion, I pressed it hard into my face, wincing slightly at the way it irritated the bruises and cuts before tilting it away enough for me to speak.

"If you just hold this cushion down on my face, I will suffocate and die, my suffering will be over and finally I will truly be at peace." The cushion was quickly swiped from my grip and launched across the room, my weak smile doing nothing to sate my brother's clear irritation.

"I hope you don't think you're getting off that easy. It's time to talk little sister."

"Maybe I'll just drown myself in the ocean instead..." I mused quietly, swinging my legs off the chair and lounging back against the cushions.

The cushions dipped as he dropped onto the opposite end of the sofa, lounging casually with his elbow resting on the arm. He looked tired, even more so than normal, but then again I didn't look my usual picture so I could hardly comment. We fell into silence, observing each other with intense scrutiny, each waiting for the other to speak. Instead, the soft sound of waves and the shrill cries of seagulls filled the space, a breeze washing through the curtains as they fluttered, scattering the sunlight through the fabric. It was a sorry situation, one that I knew neither of us wanted to be in. We didn't often argue, but then again, it wasn't every day I almost got myself kidnapped-slash-killed, so this was an anomaly.

"You didn't really think I was gonna let you sit here like you're on a spa break and forget anything ever happened, did you?" If only it was that easy. However, I'd got my determination and perseverance from somewhere, and there was no doubting it was from the man who raised me.

"No... I don't know." It felt like the hospital all over again, and I was beginning to get sick of feeling like a child, like I was in detention or a meeting with the head teacher for breaking the rules.

"No. You're damn right." Despite his obvious anger, his voice remained steady and calm, never rising an octave above his normal range. I could see it, how hard he was trying to reign it in, the deep breaths he was taking to push his anger down. "Please, Elizabeth, enlighten me as to what the hell you were thinking?"

"I was thinking that Stev-" If he had been looking for an answer, that clearly wasn't it, and I wasn't even allowed the time to finish my sentence before he cut me off.

"Of course. Steve goddamn Rogers. What is it about him Els? What is it that makes you think he's worth your life?"

His question had me slightly taken aback, because the answer was obvious. To me, it was a question that didn't even need answering, and one that I never thought he would need to ask, because he already knew the answer.

"You're all worth my life Tony. Each and every person that holds a space in my heart is worth my life. You, Steve, Pepper, Bruce, Maddie, Peter... there is not one of you that I wouldn't hesitate to do anything in my power to help. Even if that meant my life."

His tongue swiped over his lower lip as his gaze dropped to his hands. The action was only momentary but it conveyed exactly the hesitation I had expected my words to elicit. Of course he was hesitant, because he knew exactly where I had got that mentality and he knew that he would do exactly the same for every name I had listed should the situation arise.

"But you weren't saving Caps life you were risking yours for some crazy mission he dragged you into." I offered a gentle shake of my head, mentally commending myself for how calm I had managed to remain through this conversation so far.

"He didn't drag me into anything Tony... I went of my own accord. He didn't know a thing until I turned up at his door, bags in hand. What was he going to do? Turn me out onto the street?" Another breeze crept through the open window, chillier and stronger than before, twisting the curtains into an untidy mess and coercing goosebumps from my exposed arms. I grabbed my cardigan from the back of the chair, draping it over my shoulders to hold off the breeze before tucking my legs under me. The solemn shake of my brother's head told me that any excuse I had wasn't going to be good enough.

"He could have driven you back to the airport, forced you onto a plane and sent you home where you'd be safe." There was no confidence behind his words, knowing as well as I did that no one could get me to do something I didn't want to do. If he'd put me on a plane I'd have been straight on the next one back to London.

"For goodness sake Tony, you've gotta stop trying to pin this on anyone other than me. I'm the one who took his car and went back to the facility. This was all me. My decision and my mistake." He straightened slightly, eyes widening in exasperation at how calmly I was attempting to downplay the situation.

"A mistake that could have got you killed!" His voice had raised an octave, yet it was desperation that laced his tone, not anger. "What for? What was so important?"

And here we were. Finally we had reached the summit of the mountain this conversation had been scaling. Luckily for Tony, I was done. Done with the lies, with the secrets and the twisted truths. It was time for me to step out of the darkness that his secrets had cast me into.

"I heard you Tony. On the phone that morning before we went to the zoo, do you remember?" He visibly tensed, his body language conveying that he remembered as clear as day. When he didn't respond, I continued.

"You were talking to someone about me and my dreams, asking if I was safe. You told me that I was, but after England... I'm not sure I believe that. And I'm not sure you believe it either." His brow furrowed, a look of confusion playing on his features. He was frightened and it was clear, he knew I wasn't safe just as well as I did. He just didn't want to accept it.

"Tell me what actually happened in England Els. Rogers told me you were attacked but he didn't know who it was or why he was there. Do you?" I raised my chin slightly, teeth nipping at my lip as I took a breath before nodding.

"The guy that attacked me, he told me how it was inevitable that they'd find me again. He told me that I shouldn't fight the cause that created me." A flash of dread filled his eyes as he quickly moved to contain it, but it was too late. I'd seen it and it didn't frighten me anymore, because now I had the truth. Not a full truth, but parts of it that I could begin to piece together, and that instilled me with a bravery around the topic of my childhood that I'd not felt before now.

"Steve called me asking for access to the Stark satellites, that was all the help he wanted. I found out he was tracking a fugitive HYDRA agent and I wanted answers that I wasn't getting from you. That's why I went to England. And when I found out Steve was hiding files from me, I went back to that facility to get answers for myself because I'm sick of being clueless about my own life and my own safety. It's time I started looking out for myself instead of expecting you to be able to do it all on your own. Because they're still looking for me... aren't they?"

"I- I don't know-" he stumbled over his words, seeming slightly taken aback by my honesty, and hopefully my maturity towards the situation. Strangely, I'd never felt so calm in my life, even though we were discussing the fact that my life was potentionally in jeaopardy.

"Tell me the truth Tony. I know you saw the file I found so why are you still lying? I'm sitting here begging you to tell me what you know so that I can keep myself safe."

"It was Fury that I was talking to on the phone that day. He's worried that they believe their... experiments on you weren't as unsuccessful as they initially thought, and that's why they want you back. I don't know what that file means for you, but they're not going to get you Els, over my dead body..."

"Yeah, maybe." The thought of my brother getting hurt or even killed protecting me was a thing of nightmares. "You gotta stop this Tony. You can't keep doing this over and over. That file told me more than you've told me my entire life."

I scooted closer, slipping my hand into his and tightening my fingers in a comforting squeeze. It was scary, seeing my big brother frightenened, because he'd always been the strong one. But a single person can only be strong for so long, and it was time for him to share the burden.

"I understand that you want to protect me but enough is enough. This cannot stay a secret any longer. I need to know what they did to me, what they were trying to do... if it worked? What if you can't protect me forever Tony? I need to be able to protect myself."

There was no way in hell that he could argue that I was wrong, because pretending I was wrong was a dangerous form of ignorance that could end up getting me hurt. That was something neither of us wanted.

"I'm gonna protect you for as long as is physically possible... but you're right. I'm not gonna be here forever and if you're going to go chasing answers anyway, it'll be safer to work this out together." Finally, the man was talking some sense, and I mentally praised him for having the maturity to admit that for once, he was wrong.

"But I am going to protect you while I'm here, because I'm the big brother and you're the little sister. You're grounded and you're not leaving this beach house until I send Happy to get you in a week. Pepper's gonna be staying with you and doing some work while she's out here, so you can help her out with that. If you're gonna act like a kid, I'm gonna treat you like one." He knew as well as I did that I had never acted like a kid. Sure I did stupid shit sometimes, but I was always mature about it. I personally believed I was exceptionally mature for my age, but if it made him feel more in control to call me a child then so be it. So I nodded silently, accepting my punishment with grace and decorum, not a word of argument on my lips.

It wasn't as though I didn't deserve it, I had been reckless and childish, and I hadn't thought about the consequences of my actions. But I was being forced to face them now. I didn't care that I'd got hurt, that didn't bother me. What bothered me was the pain and suffering I'd caused to the people who love me. As well as that, I'd succeeded in widening the already gaping rift between Tony and Steve, the chances of them forgiving and forgetting seeming more of a dream with every passing day.

I waited by the front door as Tony grabbed his things, saying a quick goodbye to Pepper with a chaste kiss before heading my way. He took a moment to silently observe me, a frown on his face as his thumb ghosted over a particularly nasty bruise that sat in a dark halo around my left eye. He breathed a sigh, closing his eyes and pulling me into his chest. I breathed in the scent of his t-shirt, closing my eyes and letting the sound of his heartbeat sooth me with its repetitive thud. He pressed a quick kiss into my hair before he was gone, slipping out of the door and towards the waiting car. He paused after a few steps, turning back and brandishing an accusatory finger at me.

"Forgot to mention... grounded means no outside contact. No sneaking Maddie around for sleepovers, and _absolutely_ no Peter. You're in solitary confinement, and I've got eyes everywhere... aka Pepper."

I bit back a grin, nodding my head with a tight smile and offering a swift salute. Despite his narrowed eyes he turned on his heel, sliding into the driver's seat and closing the door behind him.

I pressed the decline button for what felt like the millionth time that day, the action becoming somewhat of a natural response to the sound of my phone buzzing to notify me of a call. A part of me felt bad, dodging Peter's calls like this, because it's not as if he'd done anything wrong. Judging by the frequency and sheer determination of the calls, he was at least partially wise to what had happened in London, probably finding out the truth by bothering Tony so much he finally snapped. I just couldn't face talking to him yet, and it was because I was scared. Scared that he would be mad at me, or upset or even worse, disappointed. That boy had never looked at me with anything other than admiration and pride, I couldn't face his disappointed eyes boring into my soul like I knew they would.

And what if he was angry? I'd already faced Tony's wrath I don't think I was quite ready to face Peters. I'd never seen him angry, he didn't seem the type to have the capability for such an emotion, and I couldn't imagine him shouting or screaming. Which meant that he was probably the silent angry type. The kind that pins you with a look to send chills down your spine, leaving you wishing they would just scream at you so you didn't have to endure the silent torture. Either way, I wasn't ready to face that yet, and so his calls had been sent to answerphone, one after the other.

I'd tried to justify my actions with the fact Tony had told me no outside contact, although considering the fact I'd not long hung up from a roughly three hour phone call with Maddie, claiming that was my excuse for ignoring Peter was... well, bullshit.

The phone rang once more, my hand moving to press decline in the same robotic way that it had become accustomed to, ending the possibility of a conversation before it had even begun.

"Poor kid." I glanced up from the now silent phone, meeting Pepper's eye as she watched me from the doorway.

"Who me?" I fluttered my lashes, placing an innocent hand over my heart. "I know, I feel sorry for me too, trapped here like a prisoner."

Her frown conveyed her feelings towards my comment, making it clear that she wasn't about to listen to my nonsense today. She crossed the room in a few heel clad strides, dropping into the armchair near my desk and flicking her shoes off with a sigh.

"Long day?" I flipped my laptop closed, pushing it away and spinning in my chair to face her.

"You could say that..." Her arms stretched above her hear, the quiet pop of her shoulders audible even from a distance. She met my eye, a pout on her lips and a raised brow.

"I've been dealing with the press all morning. Everyone wants to know what happened to america's golden child, Elizabeth Stark. Some asshole paparazzi managed to snap a picture of you getting off the jet. Your beautiful beat up face is all over the internet honey." I rubbed at my eyes, groaning and sinking back into my chair in despair.

"Oh god Pepper, I'm so sorry you have to deal with that. I can talk to the press if you want... what's the story?"

"If anyone asks, you were in a car accident while in London for work. It was all I could come up with on the spot but there was no reason for them not to believe it... so that's the story hitting the headlines." It made sense I suppose, it was enough to explain my injuries without the need to create a scandal. Plus, the general public would freak out less over a car accident than news of rogue HYDRA agents trying to kill a teenager.

"Thank you... for having my back." I offered her a weak smile, tugging the blanket on my shoulders tighter around me, hugging it to my chest for comfort. "I really don't know that I'd do without you."

"You'd be a mess, lets just leave it at that... and speaking of. You look like shit." I mean, it was kind of stating the obvious at this point, but I had a feeling she was referring less to the bruises and cuts and more to the hair in a messy bun and tracksuit bottoms.

"I picked us up some lunch on my way back, come eat, then take a shower and we'll go for a little beach walk. The weather's too beautiful today to be cooped up inside." I gawped, an exaggerated look of excited disbelief of my face.

"Will my ankle monitor let me go that far? Or will Tony turn up at the door and drag me back inside?" Understandably, I received a strong eye roll and a thump with a cushion before she hopped up and head for the door.

"What Tony doesn't know wont kill him."

The lunch went down a treat, a variety of salads and sushi for us to pick at as we pleased. I had to admit that sitting in the sun trap of a dining room, eating sushi with Pepper had improved my mood exponentially. I'd picked a seat directly in the sunshine, begging the warm rays to tend to my battered face, and perhaps throw in a bit of vitamin D to cheer me up even more.

We spoke a little about Pepper's morning, going over what she had told the press before I had my first look at the photo the paparazzi had snapped. I looked hideous, but I decided not to dwell on that fact, instead pointing out how the papers had rallied behind me in such a trying time. That comment had earned me a slap on the arm, but the suppressed snicker told me that Pepper wasn't as mad about it as she pretended to be.

"So, what's with the silent treatment then?" I feigned innocence, despite the fact I knew exactly what she was talking about, turning back to my sushi with a flutter of my lashes.

"Silent treatment?"

"Don't play dumb Els, I know that's Peter who's been calling you and I've seen you press that decline button every time." I shrugged, taking a bite of my lunch before dropping my chopsticks and resting my head in my hand.

"Tony said no outside contact... I'm just doing what he said."

"Oh okay, so that doesn't apply to the three hour phone conversation with Madelyn?" I gawped, folding my arms over my chest with a huff.

"You literally weren't even here, how do you know about that?!" Her innocent pout and halfhearted shrug served to remind me that I couldn't get away with anything around here. A wave of realisation hit me.

"FRIDAY... are you spying on me?" The AI's voice came back immediately, confirming my suspicions.

"Mr Stark asked me to give frequent updates to himself and Miss Potts concerning your activities, for the duration of your stay here." Great, so he really _did_ have eyes everywhere. I don't know why I hadn't considered the fact he would do that in the first place, of course he would. He was Tony fucking Stark.

"I'm gonna go take a shower... maybe I'll sneak a boy in there with me while I'm naked. How about you update Tony on that." Pepper snorted out a laugh, her crispy seaweed slipping through her chopsticks as she fought to compose herself. I merely breezed out of the room, a wicked grin on my face as I head for the bathroom, finally ready to wash away the last few days and begin the process of pulling myself back together.

My towel dried hair hung loose around my shoulders, the strands still clinging to the last of the water from my shower, the faint scent of coconut and vanilla from my conditioner swept past my nose with the light, early afternoon breeze. I'd slipped into a pair of sandy beige tailored linen trousers, matching them with my favourite white oversized cardigan that sported brown wooded buttons with gold detailing. Sliding my feet into my well worn and well loved grey Toms, I made my way to the back entrance to the house, that led out onto the warm, sandy beaches of Southampton. Pepper waited patiently on the decking at the top of the stairs, offering me a smile and a hand as I approached. I smiled as she reached forward, tucking my damp hair behind one ear and brushing her thumb over my cheek.

"Much better." Her hand slipped into mine as she led me down the stairs and to the beach, beginning what would most likely be a long and relaxing stroll in the warm afternoon air.

I hadn't been out here for a while, stuck in the city thanks to work, school and everything else in between, so it was a welcome break from the constant traffic, pollution, and that weird sewage smell that cropped up in certain areas. Here it was peaceful, and I found myself thinking that this is where I'd like to live in the future, maybe get a dog and just take nice walks along the beach before heading home, sticking a film on and having a glass of wine. I was well aware of the fact that at 16 years old I was already the epitome of a middle aged woman, yet I'd come to accept that it was just who I was, and that didn't bother me.

It never slipped my mind how lucky I was in that if that was the life I wanted, I could have it. There was nothing holding me back and that privilege was clear as day in my mind. That privilege was even more prevelant now, as Pepper and I left our footprints in the sand, sunshine on our faces and the sound of gentle waves as our background noise.

"So, do you wanna talk about why you're ignoring Peter?" I kept my gaze on the beach that stretched before us, glancing down at the sand beneath my feet before breathing a sigh.

"He's going to be so mad." I picked at the skin around my nails, a nervous habit I'd had for as long as I could remember, which on particularly bad days, left my fingers battered and sore.

"Why do you think that?" That was a good question, why _did_ I think that? I shrugged, wrapping my arms around my torso to stop me from picking at my fingers after Pepper swatted at my hands.

"You know what he's like... he's protective. He's just like Tony, another on the list of people who think I'm useless and can't take care of myself and all I've done is proved him right. He's just going to think I'm an idiot and yell at me."

A part of me genuinely believed that, because he was exactly the kind of person who might struggle to get his emotions out in a calm and productive way, often just ending up succumbing to frustrations and blowing up. I knew it because I'd seen it a million times with Tony. He was never really angry, and there had never been repercussions to his outbursts, but that didn't mean I enjoyed experiencing them. And Peter was so much like Tony, in so many ways, that there wasn't a doubt in my mind that it was exactly how he would react, especially upon seeing my sorry state.

"Maybe you're right, maybe he will be mad and he might shout at you but that doesn't mean he loves you or cares for you any less. You know that." I did know that, but it didn't change how little I wanted to face him right now.

"You can't avoid him forever, and you need to think about how he might be feeling right now..." I furrowed my brow, sparing her a questioning glance as I waited for her to elaborate.

"He's just found out that his best friend in the whole world has run off to England and nearly got herself killed. Whether he's found out the truth of what happened or he thinks you were in a car accident, he's going to be worried sick."

A pang of guilt hit me as I realised she was right. Yes he would probably be mad, but if he was as worried as she said, which I think he probably was, he was only going to get madder as the silence went on.

"Crap... I need to call him don't I?" She nodded softly, draping an arm around me as I rest my head against her shoulder. She used her grip on me to change our direction, heading back towards the house where I would finally have to face what I'd been putting off for so long.

"You won't tell Tony?"

"You're secret's safe with me."

Having left my phone behind when we went on our walk, I'd been glad to have the peace and quiet away from technology for a while, but I hadn't considered what might be waiting for me when I got home. Pepper's face conveyed as much anxiety as mine as I held the phone between us, scanning over the messages I'd received. I ignored the fact I had eight missed calls, heading straight for the messages that filled my inbox.

None of them were particularly calm or friendly, as Peter announced how annoyed he was I had been dodging his calls and keeping secret what had really happened in London. But it was the final message that gave me that sinking feeling, the kind that sits in your stomach, heavy and sickening.

 _Tony finally called me back and told me what really happened. I should have know the car accident story was bullshit. We need to talk. I'm coming to Southampton._

How he planned to get all the way out here I didn't know, but there wasn't a doubt it my mind that he was going to turn up at that front door. I'd received the text around an hour ago, meaning he was most likely only just over an hour away. That didn't give me long to prepare for the long awaited and terrifying reunion I'd been desperate to avoid. Thankfully, Pepper kept a calm head, guiding me towards my bedroom and plonking me down at my dresser.

"Okay, this is fine... we can just use a little concealer to cover this bit here and-" I shook my head, cutting her off as I grabbed the hand that reached out for my makeup bag.

"No, if he realises I'm trying to downplay this he'll just be more mad." I ran my fingers through my hair, closing my eyes and taking a breath. "I've had enough of all the lies I'm not doing it anymore."

A kiss was placed on my head, a gentle squeeze to my shoulder before she swept out of the room, quietly announcing that she was going to make us some herbal tea and leaving me alone with my thoughts. A place I didn't really want to be right now.

I'd never felt this on edge, my hands shaking slightly as I paced the room. It had been an hour and a half since I'd seen the message, meaning that he couldn't be far away now. I'd considered checking his snapchat maps to see if I could locate him, but thought better of it when I considered that I might open it and see that he was right outside. Better to stay in the dark in this case. Either way, I couldn't say I was particularly eager for his arrival.

I had been stupid. Completely, utterly, ridiculously stupid, and while I'd already received my berating from Tony, the thought of facing Peter about it had send a whole new wave of anxiety over me. The experience had been traumatising enough as it was, and now I got to top it off with the possibility of arguing with my best friend. I breathed out a shaky sigh, wincing at the sharp pain that shot through my ribs as I crossed my arms over my torso. I turned to the mirror that stood in the corner, assessing my sorry state with sad eyes. My left wrist was still wrapped securely in a white cast, matching the identically coloured sling that held my shoulder in place, both looking strangely aesthetically pleasing when paired with my white cardigan and gold jewellery.

I took this time to properly assess the injuries to my face, for the first time since arriving back in America. Large bruises on my cheek and forehead complimented the sea of dark purple and blue that marred my chest, conveniently shielded for the most part by my cardigan. Flimsy paper stitches held together my split brow, a sore red slit also marking my lower lip. All-in-all, I looked like shit. Admittedly, I'd known all along that it was going to be a terrible idea, going back there, but I'd needed answers, and I had found them, in part at least. The chance of a few broken bones and bruises would never stop me once I set my mind to something.

I physically jumped as a loud knock sounded at the front door, FRIDAY's voice falling into background noise as she unnecessarily announced Peter's arrival. I already knew he was here. Despite the fact the room had begun to spin, I took a few hesitant steps towards the door, taking a breath as I gave one last look to the sad girl in the mirror before heading for my fate.

I opened the door slowly and with hesitance, my eyes cast downward as I hugged my arm to my chest protectively. Any anger Peter might have had immediately turned to concern as he scanned me from head to toe. I shifted anxiously under his gaze, silently stepping aside and letting him in, closing the door slowly before turning to face him.

"My god Elizabeth..." I cast my gaze down once again, unable to meet his eye as I felt like a naughty child ready to receive a telling off. I remained silent as I shifted on my feet, picking at my nails nervously.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" And there it was... the pity part had ended before it had even begun, and so the berating commenced.

"I wasn't thinking..." I began, my voice wavering slightly before he cut me off.

"No! You're damn right you weren't thinking! How could you be so stupid Els?! You could have gotten yourself killed!" I sniffed quietly, chewing my lip and shrugging weakly.

"I know that, and I know it was stupid and dangerous but Steve-" He shook his head with a disgusted laugh.

"Don't even get me started on Steve Rogers." I frowned. I'd never been one to let a person speak ill of Steve, and I wasn't about to start now.

"Steve isn't the one at fault here... if you'd let me finish you would know that. I'm the one who made the decision to go to England, not for him, for me. He didn't ask and he didn't know I'd be stupid enough to go back to that base one my own. I was looking for answers for _me_ , not him. I stole his freaking car what was he supposed to do?"

"He didn't stop you. He let you stay even though he knew you could get hurt. And if he knows you as well as he claims to then he should have know you'd do something stupid like stealing his car and going back there alone." It was a stretch, and he knew that as well as I did, but it was too late to take it back now. I managed to find my voice, my anger fuelling me now his ridiculous comments, ones that I'd also had to hear from Tony, had given it leverage.

"He is absolutely not to blame, so don't you dare try to pin this on him! He didn't even know I'd seen the file. Maybe if everyone stopped lying to me about every fucking thing in my life, I wouldn't have had to go looking for answers in the first place!" I practically growled, my breath coming out raged and that familiar shooting pain in my ribs returning.

"But he is to blame Els. You don't see it but it's insane the things you're willing to do where he's involved." It was like talking to a brick wall, having him pick and choose what he heard me say, ignoring everything to focus on how Steve had apparently caused all this. Once again, I found myself repeating my earlier conversation with Tony.

"You think I wouldn't do the same for you? Wherever you were, if you needed me I would be there. Without fail." My voice was shaking again, my throat beginning to feel tight as tears threatened to fall.

"I would NEVER expect you to Els, and I certainly wouldn't LET you... that's the difference. He didn't need you there, you dragged yourself into a mess that you're not a part of and he let you." Ah, so he didn't know the full truth then. By the looks of it, Tony had left out my connections to HYDRA, something I'd have to thank him for later.

"Maybe I am a part of it..." My voice was quiet as I recalled what I had read, scribbled in messy handwriting within the tattered pages of that file.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I fell silent, sighing in defeat with a small shake of my head. I know I'd said I was done with the lies, but that was a truth I suddenly realised I wasn't quiet ready to reveal. Not yet. And especially not when he was this angry and I was so close to tears. That was a rational composed conversation for another time.

"Look at yourself Els. Don't forget that he isn't the only one who cares about you. If something worse had happened to you, if I'd lost you..." He cut himself off, taking a steadying breath in an attempt to calm himself. The first of my tears finally made an appearance as I reached out a comforting hand to the boy who stood before me, fighting to hold himself together. This conversation had ended up being the polar opposite to the calm chat Tony and I had earlier, emotions at a high as we both tried our best to come to terms with the whole situation. He shook his head, meeting my eye with a seriousness I'd never seen from him.

"Honestly though... the thing that pisses me off the most is the way you lied to my face." There was a sharp edge to his words, unexpectly quite nasty and surprising me. "You looked me in the eye and you lied to me, about where you were going, what you were doing."

I exhaled in disbelief, a smile flickering on my lips as I realised he'd given me all the ammunition I needed to snap back at him. If he wanted to talk about lying, then he would get his wish. I clenched my jaw, folding my arms over my chest and meeting his eye with determination.

"You really want to talk about lying? Sure, lets talk about lies." My tears were gone and my voice was steady, an eerie calm washing over me. He furrowed his brow in confusion, but I didn't miss the flash of understanding behind his eyes. He hesitated slightly before he spoke.

"I don't know what you're talking about Els." His gaze shifted away from mine and I couldnt help but scoff at the way he continued to lie so easily.

"Really? You didn't realise that you'd been lying to me? Hiding and keeping secrets since the day we met?" I sighed, blinking back tears that threatened to spill. "I was so mad about you keeping secrets from me for so long. But now it just hurts. Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think I dont realise that you're hiding something big from me? It's bad enough knowing that Tony's lying, but I'm kinda used to him keeping things from me at this point, but you?" I paused, attempting to swallow the lump in my throat.

"Els..."

"I trust you Peter... with my life. You are my best friend and I've told you things that no one else knows. Not Tony, not Pepper, not even Maddie. Why don't you trust me?" Yes, it was a low blow, and yes, I was trying to get a reaction from him, but for once I was being completely honest. He shuffled awkwardly on his feet, unable to meet my eye.

"I trust you El-bell... of course I do."

"Then why are you lying to me?"

"I'm trying to protect you! Why can't you see that?" I flinched at his sudden outburst, stepping back as he moved forward, slipping his hands into mine and squeezing my fingers.

"Every single lie, everything I don't tell you... it's to make sure that you never end up like this." He gestured to my various injuries, "So that you don't get hurt. I'm not Steve Rogers and I WILL NOT drag you into my messes."

"So you'd rather just betray every bit of trust we have, keeping me in the dark?"

"If it means keeping you safe? Yes. Which is why I'm telling you now that you need to let this go, whatever you were looking for at that military base, whatever secrets you're trying to uncover. Let it go."

"I can't do that." I began speaking but was quickly cut off as he continued to rant, barely noticing that I had spoken at all.

"And as well as that, you are not Steves disposable shield. I don't care if he needs help tying his shoelaces. I'm not losing my best friend because a grown man expects a child to fight for him. I lov- care about you too much to stand by idly and let that happen. You're not doing it. Not any more." His jaw clenched as he sucked in a deep breath, his voice and gaze unwavering. I didn't miss the way he had caught himself, altering his sentence part way through but I was too angry to care about what he was or was not about to say. I furrowed my brow, choking out a disbelieving laugh as I shook my head.

"You can't be serious... you can't ban me from seeing him, Peter. Not even Tony has managed to do that." I bit back angrily, all sadness dissipating in almost an instant.

"I just did." I laughed again, turning and beginning to walk away, not quite believing what I was hearing and not willing to continue listening to it. My steps were quickly halted as his hand wrapped around my wrist, his fingers tightening as I pulled away.

"I'm not joking Elizabeth, listen to me for once in your life. I'm not trying to control you, I'm just trying to protect you. Please understand that." I winced as his fingertips dug into my wrist, surely bruising as he forgot his strength. The pain in my wrist somehow managed to resurface all other pains in my body, filling my eyes with tears as I squirmed in his constricting grip.

"Peter, you're hurting me." I cried softly, quietly begging him to let go. His eyes flicked between me and my wrist, immediately softening as he let go with a sigh.

"God, Els, I'm so sorry I didn't mean-"

"Please leave." I cut him off, unable to meet his eye as I cradled what used to be my good wrist to my stomach.

"I didn't think, please, I'm sorry."

"I need you to leave, now." My voice cracked near the end of my sentence and I took a step back as he sighed in defeat. Neither of us said any more as he turned silently and left, the door clicking shut behind him and leaving me alone again. I turned to meet the curious eye of Pepper, who was peering around the doorframe from her half hidden spot, the sadness in her eyes telling me she had heard everything.

"I just can't seem to do anything right." I forced a shaky smile onto my face, barely managing to choke out a feeble laugh. "That went way worse than I expected." With that, my emotions descended into chaos, tears quickly leaving little splashes on the wood floor beneath my feet. Hushed whispers of reassurance were uttered into my ear as she pulled me into a tight hug, my tears absorbing into her cashmere sweater.

I shuffled back into the lounge, allowing Pepper to lead me and my feet to carry me without having to think, dropping onto the couch and sinking into the cushions. Despite my protests and best attempts, my tears were heavy and unending, leaving my eyes stinging and my head throbbing before I finally drifted off into an uncomfortable and restless sleep.

Peter's POV

I dropped my head into my hands, releasing loud groan and dropping back onto my bed with a huff. Everything had gotten out of hand, all the lies and the secrets that I'd been fighting to keep hidden for so long. I was beginning to wonder why. Why was I lying? I'd always reasoned that I was doing it to keep her safe, but clearly she was capable of getting herself into danger without any help from me. I did think that maybe if she'd known, who I was and what I was, she would have asked to go with her. I could have protected her. But then again, maybe not.

And now with everything that happened yesterday, I'd be surprised if she ever wanted to look at me again, let alone forgive me. It had spiralled into something I dont think either of us had expected, but seeing her face, the cuts and bruises that ruined her skin. Not that I didn't think she was beautiful even when she looked like shit, but this was different. She was hurt and I hadn't been able to do anything about it. I still couldn't do anything about it because she'd, understandably, gone back to dodging my calls and ignoring my texts. I couldnt say I blamed her to be honest. In my determination to protect her, I'd been the one who actually ended up hurting her, both physically and emotionally. Basically, I was a shit friend and I didn't know how I could fix this.

"You okay buddy? You look like you're thinking real hard." I opened one eye, peering through the gap in my fingers, my hands remaining pressed against my face in frustration.

"I don't know what to do." I heard the familiar squeak of my chair as he dropped into it, pushing himself off the desk and spinning in circles with a thoughtful look.

"Yeah you do." Maybe he was right, I did know what to do. But that didn't mean I was keen on the idea. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I remembered why I'd been lying in the first place. The image of her bruised and marred face filled my mind, her smile hindered by the angry red slit across her lips, the olive skin I'd fallen in love with marked with dark purple blotches. I could never be the cause of that.

"Should I tell her?" No. I shouldn't. But maybe I should. Apparently, Ned had already worked out his answer.

"You should tell her." Great, thanks. It wasn't that easy though was it.

"But I can't drag her into my mess, what if it's me who puts her in danger next time, who gets her hurt?" He ceased his spinning, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together thoughtfully.

"From what I've seen, she's perfectly capable of creating her own messes and putting herself in danger without your help." I rolled my eyes, despite the fact his statement was absolutely correct. His expression suddenly changed as a thought occurred to him, looking rather offended as he continued. "Plus, you didn't mind dragging me into this..."

"C'mon Ned, you dragged yourself into all of this." I gestured vaguely, referring to all of my Spider-man business.

"True... but I still think you should tell her. She can look after herself." A few weeks ago I might have agreed, but since recent events I had to argue that she could not, in fact, look after herself. Not even a little bit.

"You didn't see her Ned... It made me sick to see her like that. I never want her to hurt like that again." I shook the image from my head for the millionth time that day, wanting nothing more than to run back to her, nurse her wounds and help return her to her normal, uninjured state.

The room fell silent, my comment receiving no response as Ned chewed his lip, his fingers tracing patterns over his jawline as though he were Sherlock Holmes, lost deep in thought.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, what?" I shrugged, pushing myself up to sit and propping my pillows behind my back.

"Do you like Els? Like... like-like?" Despite the fact he'd used the word 'like' far too many times in that sentence, I knew exactly what he meant, and I fought to hide the fact that my heart had begun to face at the thought. Because yes. I did.

"What? No, we're just best friends, you know." He gawped at me, once again, looking rather offended by my words.

"I'm your best friend."

"She's also my best friend." He narrowed his eyes, holding up his hands in defeat before shaking his head.

"You can lie to yourself all you want Peter... but I don't understand why you'd want to."

"Because, she's Elizabeth Stark and she'll never like me back in that way because I'm just me and she's always gonna deserve better than just me." It wouldn't matter how many times I said it or thought it, that fact would never cease to break my heart just a little bit more every time. Despite the fact I was dying emotionally inside, Ned's lips had pulled into a wide smile, a knowing look on his face.

"I knew it. I knew you liked her." He'd folded his arms over his chest with a triumphant grin and how he'd, sort of, managed to get me to admit it. I suppose it didn't really matter anyway. There was no use hiding it from him when he clearly already knew, and nothing was going to happen between us because now she hated me.

"Dude, you really don't know the half of it." It felt like a bit of a weight off, finally admitting how I felt to someone other than myself. Yet it didn't get rid of the ache in my chest that I felt whenever I thought about what I couldn't have.

"I nearly told her yesterday..." I thought back to our conversation and the way I'd barely managed to catch myself seconds before I revealed my true feelings.

"That you're Spider-man or that you like her?" I breathed a laugh, rubbing my temples and squeezing my eyes shut as I prepared to make my admission.

"That I'm completely in love with her." Ned's expression morphed from a state of shock to one of pure delight, a wide grin on his lips.

"You need to tell her. Everything." That sounded like a terrible idea.

"Tell her you're spider-man, tell her you're in love with her, just tell her all of it."

"Absolutely not."

"I can't force you to do anything but you need to consider that one day, she's going to get bored of waiting around for you and find someone else. Don't miss your chance." Yeah, that would be great advice if it were even a bit relevant to the situation.

"That's great advice Ned, except for the fact that she doesn't like me that way, and she's definitely not 'waiting around' for me. She wont even talk to me." He raised a disbelieving brow, scoffing at my comment and shaking his head.

"Who would have thought that I'd be the perceptive one here. Trust me Pete, I've seen the two of you together. You need to tell her."

Admittedly, I had considered the idea once or twice, that she might actually like me in the same way that I did her, but every time I forced myself to quickly brush it away. It hurt too much to give myself hope when I knew it was useless. If I let myself believe it for even a minute, it would only hurt that much more when I had to face the truth.

"I can't Ned... you don't get it." I sunk back into the cushions feeling slightly dejected by the whole situation.

"What am I missing here...? You like her, she obviously likes you. Where is the problem?" Where wasn't the problem?

"First of all, she doesn't like me as anything more than a friend, you're crazy. Second, what if I tell her the truth about who I am and..."

"And what? She falls in love with you even more because she realises that you're a freaking superhero which is awesome?!" I wish, but no. Quite the opposite.

"She spoke to me once about having Tony as a brother. She was telling me how every time he heads out as Iron man, on a mission, she feels sick. She's constantly terrified that she's going to lose him so why would she want to add another name to that list? What if I tell her the truth and she decides she just can't handle caring about me anymore?" In my head, it was sound logic and a completely valid question, but judging by Ned's look of complete bewilderment, It was wrong.

"That is, truly, the stupidest thing I've heard in my life. I honestly don't even know how to respond to that." His hands were pressed together in front of his face, elbows on his knees as he stared at me with an incredulous look, shoulders sagging slightly as he blinked.

"You don't understand because you're not me. You don't know her as well as I do and I know that she isn't as strong as she thinks." I was silenced from continuing whatever I had planned to say by the pencil projectile that jabbed me in the forehead, bouncing off across the room as I watched with a frown.

"Ow, What the hell?!" Ned's expression told me that my pain didn't bother him, and that I had deserved exactly what I'd just received.

"I'm gonna need you to stop mansplaining Elizabeth's feelings before I fell the need to punch you in the face. Ok? Now listen..." I gawped at his comment as he leaned forward in the chair, hands clasped together once again on his legs as he met my gaze, scarily reminding me of Madelyn as he prepared my lecture. Clearly they'd been hanging out far too much recently.

"Elizabeth Stark is one of the strongest people either of us have ever met, and you know it. Yes, she makes terrible decisions and yes, she's going to get hurt every now and then, but lying to her like this...? Trust me when I tell you that when she finds out the truth, and she _will_ find out the truth, she's not going to thank you for 'protecting her', she's going to be hurt that you didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth and let her make her own decisions about how to deal with that."

I remained silent, unable to find any words to argue against what he'd just said, because it was true, all of it, and I hadn't been lying when I said I knew her well, which meant I knew exactly what her reaction would be. But which would be worse? If she was mad at me for lying or if she was dead. It wasn't a question that needed to be asked.

"I'd rather she be mad than dead. I'm not telling her anything. Not yet anyway." I didn't miss the dejected sigh that I received from Ned, but I chose to ignore it.

"If you're not gonna tell her you're spider-man, at least have the balls to tell her you're deeply, madly in love with her." I rolled my eyes, shaking my head with a laugh.

"I'm not _deeply, madly_ in love with her, you're exaggerating..." Sure, keep telling yourself that Pete. "And anyway, I don't think my fragile heart could handle her rejection, not right now anyway."

"Suit yourself. Just know that I think you're a coward." As much as I wished I wasn't, that assessment was spot on.

"Noted."


	15. The Truth is sort of Out

"I still think you should go talk to him." I rolled my eyes, stuffing the last of my things into my suitcase and zipping it shut. Flinging my rucksack over my shoulder, I head for the door, greeted by an expectant Pepper, arms folded and brow raised. As usual.

"Yes... I am planning on talking to him. I'm just not sure what to say."

Peter and I hadn't spoken for the remainder of my week of house arrest, my phone remaining silent to all calls and texts that were sent my way. I wasn't mad at him anymore. Yes, I wished he'd told me the truth about whatever he was hiding and I wished he hadn't gotten so angry but at the same time, I could never hold that against him. He had every right to be angry and in the light of the following morning, I had realised that. I did consider calling him straight away, apologising profusely and begging him to forgive me for my stupidity, but I'd held off. What we both needed right now was time to cool off, to get our heads together and work out what our next move should be. That wasn't something we could do together, so I'd given us alone time, whether we liked it or not.

"I don't think you have much left to say... it's his turn to speak Els. He has some truths that he needs to get out. You do too... but I don't know if it's the right time for your truth to be revealed yet." That was another thing I'd considered, telling him about my childhood, the whole truth. Or at least the truth I knew. But that lingering fear still sat in my chest, that it would end up being a revelation that pushed him away from me. Maybe he'd think I was crazy, or dangerous, and maybe I _was_ both of those things. The fact that I didn't even know yet made it all that much more difficult for me to tell him.

"I think I need to work out what my truth is before it's revealed to anyone." I wheeled my case past her, allowing Happy to take it from me and throw it into the trunk. I reached for the door, about to climb in to the back of the car when Pepper's hand in my stopped me.

"Elizabeth... you're not what HYDRA tried to make you. It's important that you know that." I did, and my small nod of agreement told her that, because she was right. I wasn't what HYDRA tried to make me. At least, not yet.

It was nice to laugh again, after a week of wallowing in my own self-pity, Tony hadn't wasted a second trying to cheer me up on my return. By the looks of it, I was forgiven, if not entirely then at least a little. Right now, he was performing a dramatic retelling of an event he showed his face at a couple of days ago, just reaching the point at which he tripped over a curtain and spilled his drink over a rather busty woman. Despite the fact that smiling ached my bruised cheeks, and stretched the cut that was close to healing on my lip, I couldn't stop. It was good to be home, and while I missed the sandy beaches and sunshine of Southampton, the noisy streets and Manhattan trash were all I needed right now.

"It was awful, truly hideous. So her extremely... prominent, bust was now covered in champagne, and she was looking at me like she was about to slap me silly, so the-" My buzzing phone interrupted his story, and I held a finger up to excuse myself while I took the call.

"Mads, what's up?" I shot Tony a shrug as I slipped out of the room and into the hallway.

 _"Literally, what ISN'T up."_ She sounded excited, and I couldn't help but grin down the phone. Maddie hadn't sounded this excited since that time she creepily stared at Hugh Jackman from a distance on the subway and then tweeted that she'd met him.

"Okay well now I need to know, please tell me what is up." I moved the phone away from my ear slightly as she laughed maniacally.

 _"I can't tell you over the phone... I'm coming over. I have a crazy update for you courtesy of my father's terribly hidden emails."_ Well, now I was intrigued.

"You've got my attention... get your butt over here asap I must know." She loudly announced that she would see me in five minutes, and that I needed to put my 'big girl pants' on and not freak out when she told me. I didn't quite know what that meant, but either way, I was excited to find out what kind of insane news I would soon receive.

When I returned to the lounge, Tony had made himself comfortable stretched out on the sofa, hands behind his head and eyes closed. I took my advantage and snuck up behind him, launching myself over the back of the couch and landing in a heap on top of him. He huffed out a surprised breath, despite the shock, still managing to catch me before I rolled off onto the floor. Admittedly I had completely forgotten about my injuries, including the previously dislocated shoulder which had now begun to ache again.

"Are you actively _trying_ to hurt yourself or what?" I laughed as he held me tight against his chest, ruffling my hair with his free hand and readjusting into a more comfortable position. Resting my head against his chest, I relished in the slightly uncomfortable yet perfect position we had ended up in. I always felt safe when I was with Tony, no matter what was going on around us, his arms around me and my head against his chest was my safe place. It had been since the day I barrelled into his life and he welcomed me into his with open arms.

"I haven't even asked... are you ok?" I closed my eyes, taking a moment to ponder the question before answering. Truth be told, I hadn't asked myself that either, so I wasn't 100% sure.

"I think so. I mean, yeah I'm scared, and everything is kind of uncertain right now, but I know more than I ever have and that makes me feel like I've at least got a chance, you know. Like I have some semblance of control over my life now that I never used to have." His arms tightened around me, his sigh blowing through my hair in a warm breath.

"I'm sorry I lied to you and kept secrets, and I'm sorry I've been treating you like a kid this whole time because you're not. What happened in England was just as much my fault as it was yours or Rogers'." Now that was a confession I hadn't expected to hear today, or any other day. I smiled into his chest, relishing in the fact that walls were finally breaking down between us.

"I'm scared too." This caught my attention, and I turned my gaze up, chin resting on his chest as I watched him curiously.

"You're the most important person in the universe to me, you know that right?" I nodded with a small smile of confirmation. "I treat you like a kid because I don't want you to grow up, because once you grow up you don't need me to look after you. There's gonna come a day when you can take care of yourself and I suppose I'm just trying to put off that day for as long as I can."

"C'mon Tony, that day is never going to come. I'm gonna need you every single day for the rest of my life so don't start thinking you'll get rid of me any time soon." I shifted awkwardly, careful of my fractured wrist as he helped me move into a seated position before following my lead.

"It doesn't matter how old or brave I get, there are always going to be times when I'm scared, or sad or lonely and that's when I need my big brother. So don't you dare go anywhere because I could call on you any time for a hug, day or night." I swallowed the lump that had begun to form in my throat, blinking away my watery eyes with a laugh as he reached out and pulled me back towards him.

"Don't be all soppy you're such a loser... but I'm always a call away whenever you need a hug, or a shoulder to cry on, or someone to beat up a stupid boy, just FYI." He always knew the right thing to say, and had once again succeeded in bringing a smile to my face.

"Speaking of stupid boys. Do you think you could go talk to Parker sometime soon, I'm getting sick of him calling me I'm considering changing my number." Ah yes, that issue which I had yet to face. I hummed in thought, screwing up my nose and dropping back into the cushions behind me.

"I dunno, I think I'm gonna let him suffer for a little bit longer..."

"If he suffers I suffer. Think of my sanity Elizabeth." I shrugged with a smirk, hopping up from the sofa, kicking his leg off the coffee table as I passed and earning myself a few choice words.

"I'll talk to him, chill... but first, Madelyn has some exciting news for me that just can't wait, so I need to go deal with that." I crossed the room in a few quick skips, pausing at the door and blowing a kiss back at my brother before glancing towards the coffee table.

"I think your phone is ringing." Sure enough, Peter's name had lit up the screen, a string of swear words leaving Tony's lips as he launched a cushion at the device before burying his head into the sofa. I bit back my laughter, slipping out of the room and heading for my bedroom, eagerly awaiting Maddie's arrival and the exciting news I had been promised.

Madelyn had wasted no time in pointing it how shit I looked before suggesting a few products that might help cover the mess that was my face. She'd insisted that we lock ourselves away in my room, and that no one else was allowed to enter whilst we discussed her exciting news. I had happily obliged, closing the door and clicking the lock into place, a feature which I had insisted upon a few years ago when Thor had casually ambled into my room whilst I was changing.

I allowed myself to be directed towards the bed, settling in against the cushions as Maddie sat cross legged in front of me. I waited in silent anticipation to find out what was so important that she had to tell me immediately.

"Okay so, I wasn't joking when I said this was big news. I've found the answers that you've been searching for but I need you to promise not to freak out when I tell you." I nodded fervently, eager for her to get on with it already.

"Okay so that intel mission you sent me on, way back when you and Peter had just started to hang out, remember?" Of course I remembered, I'd begun to think that nothing would come from it but perhaps I was about to be proved wrong. "I've uncovered something very interesting that I think you need to know about."

"Tell me all." I was eager to find out what she had dug up since way back when I had first told her about her father's involvement with the 'internship'.

"So, I had a look through his schedules and all that boring crap, because he's an idiot and has the same password for everything, including his private emails. Not so private any more... Anyway, I found out that he was in Berlin when the whole airport, emotional-breakdown-of-the-avengers fiasco happened. Which is totally normal, right?" I shrugged. It sounded normal to me. Wherever Tony was, Happy was close behind. "Well, that's what I thought, until I found some hotel booking documents hidden away in a separate inbox. Turns out that while he was in Berlin he had two rooms booked, adjacent to each other."

"Who was in the other room?" It wouldn't have been Tony, he tended to go for a suite rather than a room, and even if he hadn't he wouldn't have stayed adjacent to anyone. He was a good man but he was still a snob. Plus, on the dates Happy had been away, Tony was still in NY. I remembered it vividly because we had a movie night and I ate so much ice cream that I threw up. He didn't leave NY until a few days later.

"Take a guess..." The possibilities could be endless, maybe he had a secret girlfriend, perhaps he just wanted two rooms... but there was only one person who would make sense if this conversation was about who I thought it was.

"Peter?" I shrugged, taking a guess at the most obvious answer I could come up with.

"Ding ding, we have a winner! Peter was booked into the adjacent room which means he was in Berlin when all of that craziness happened."

"Yeah but we already know that, he's already told me he was there, on that Stark internship retreat or whatever it was." She remained silent, locking me with a blank stare as she blinked in exasperation.

"Please, sweetie, tell me you didn't buy that bull?" I rolled my eyes, sending her a pout and a frown as my way of saying 'do you think I'm stupid?'.

"Obviously not, I'm not mentally incapable... but why would he have been in Berlin? What reason would Tony have for sending him there if not for this internship crap?" I frowned as she returned the eye roll, shuffling forward and crossing her legs underneath her before clasping her hands in her lap.

"Okay, you're clearly not picking up the very obvious hints I'm putting down, so I'm gonna go through this real slow for ya. Here comes Miss Hogan, pre-school teacher..." She jumped up from the bed, skipping over to the whiteboard that was pinned to the wall beside my desk and grabbing a pen. I watched in silent despair as she wiped away my carefully curated notes and to-do list and began writing a list of names, followed by a second list right beside it.

"Okay, on the left here, we have the alias' of everyone who we know was at the airport that day. And over on the right, we have the real names of everyone we _suspect_ was there that day. We're gonna play a game of 'match the alias to the name'". My frown didn't let up, but I silently agreed, gesturing for her to begin.

"Okay fine, Iron man is Tony Stark..." That was an easy one. She clapped sarcastically.

"Well done, one point to Elizabeth... please continue." I did as I was told, quickly matching Wanda to Scarlet Witch, Steve to Captain America, Bucky to the Winter Soldier and Sam to Falcon, pausing momentarily to laugh at the fact she had already connected Vision to Vision.

"Does this ever make you feel like you need an alias...?" Maddie narrowed her eyes in response to my quiet musing, staring at me silently for a few seconds.

"No. Keep going." I groaned, dropping onto my stomach and resting my chin in my hands. I still wanted an alias.

"Black Panther is T'Challa-"

"Oh yes, he most certainly is..." She cut in, drawing the line between the names slowly and shooting a wink over her shoulder.

"War machine is Rhodes, Black Widow is Nat, and Hawkeye is Clint... Who's left?" She quickly joined the names before scanning the board.

"Ummm... we've got Ant-man and Spider-man. Both of the insects."

"Technically spider's aren't insects, it's a common misconception but they're part of the Arachnida family because they ha-" I stopped myself, shrugging innocently at the death glare she was sending my way. "-but that is not important... okay, so Ant-man is Scott Laing."

She smiled, drawing the line slowly before spinning to face me, clasping her hands in front of her with a proud smile.

"A* Elizabeth... but we still have one name left..."

"Spider-man?" I pushed myself off my belly, tucking my legs underneath me and kneeling as I assessed the board. Only two names remained. Spider-man and Peter Parker. I glanced between her and the board, piecing things together as she watched me with that knowing grin. "You think Peter is Spider-man?"

"You really are a genius Elizabeth Stark I can truly see why you have an IQ of 142... yes, Peter is Spider-man, and I can prove it beyond a doubt."

She reached into her pocket, digging out a phone I didn't recognise and tapping at the screen with a smug smirk, before throwing it towards me. I caught it with ease, my brow furrowed as I noted Peter's face on the screen.

"I found this in dad's desk drawer, I'm guessing it was confiscated and I can tell why. You're gonna love this... press play." I did as I was told, watching and listening intently as all my questions were finally answered. My lips parted in silent awe as the video unfolded before me, starting out as what looked like a normal trip to Berlin vlog, and ending in my best friend flying across an airport runway as he fought a giant Ant-man. The video ended and I remained silent, taking it all in as everything started to fall into place. It made sense, all of it. The internship being a guise for Peter to work with Tony... Peter's lightning fast reflexes... the fact he was always running of somewhere or another, constantly worried about my safety and claiming he was lying to protect me. Peter Parker was Spider-man.

"So, there we go..." She placed her pen down dramatically, adding a bow for effect. "Your honour, I rest my case." I dropped the phone onto the bed beside me, sucking in a deep breath before releasing it slowly.

"I mean, I suppose I'd already kinda worked it out..."

"Uh-uh. Nope. I worked it out, you will not steal this victory form me." She grabbed the phone and flopped onto the bed beside me, glancing down at the video once more before turning to me, just as a thought occurred.

"Wait... why did you make me go through that stupid name game if you had this video all along?"

"Because it was fun to watch your brain working in overdrive to piece it all together. So... what are you gonna do?" I shrugged, chewing my bottom lip as I tried to work out where to go from here. I had the beginnings of an idea, a very bad extremely terribly idea, but an idea nonetheless. I suppose it was something I should have considered more carefully, just in case, but with the evidence before me I had all the confidence I needed to know that my plan would succeed without a hitch.

"Peter would do anything to save me right... even if it meant revealing his big secret..."

"I already hate whatever it is you're going to do. It's a terrible idea and let the record state that I am 100% against it." She folded her arms over her chest with a shake of her head. "Just don't even tell me what you're doing, at least that way I can plead ignorance when you do something stupid and Tony yells at me."

"Oh it is going to be SO stupid. It's probably the worst idea I've ever had. But it's going to work perfectly." At least... I hoped.

It was late afternoon when Maddie left and I decided that maybe it was time to end the silent treatment. I knew the truth now, and it made everything so much clearer. It didn't make me any less mad that he had lied, but I understood. Everyone's incessant need to protect me was irritating at best and dangerous at worst, but after recent events I kinda understood where they were coming from. I was reckless and I acted without thinking, not about myself or about the people around me. But it was over now, the lies about my childhood had ended and now Peter's needed to end too. I had my plan in my head, and once again, it was reckless and stupid, but that wasn't going to stop me. I was, however going to give the boy one last chance to spill his secret before I forced his hand.

I peered into the lounge, spotting Tony and Pepper on the sofa watching a film that I didn't recognise. Clearing my throat quietly, I glanced down at my watch as I entered. 6pm, not too late so my request shouldn't be declined. Both heads turned to face me upon my arrival, a smile from each of them which I gratefully returned.

"Hey guys... uh Tony, is it cool if I head out for a little bit?" He seemed sceptical, his eyes narrowed and a frown furrowing his brow.

"You're not running off to England again are you?" I breathed a guilty laugh, realising that I was probably never going to live that down.

"Not this time... I need to go talk to Pete." He didn't reply immediately, but soon nodded in understanding as Pepper nudged his shoulder.

"Anything to stop the kid calling me. I've left my phone down in the lab because I can't cope with it anymore." My lips stretched into an amused smirk, which I quickly fought to suppress as he narrowed his eyes once again.

"I promise I'll make him stop, ok?" I received a curt nod in response, taking that as my permission and spinning on my heel.

"Hey Els," I glanced back over my shoulder, Tony's eyes on me, his lips pulled into a sad smile. "Don't be too hard on the kid. He's been worried sick about you."

My smile matched his as a pang of guilt hit me. Of course he'd been worried sick, and here I'd been, laughing and joking while he wallowed in his guilt and anxiety. Some best friend I was. But that was about to change, because I was going to fix all of this, tonight.

"See you later Tony... bye Pepper."

"Call me if you're gonna be late!" I waved a confirmation over my shoulder as I slipped out of the door, spinning my keys around my index finger as I headed for the garage.

My hand hesitated as I raised it to the door, steadying my breathing before bringing it down in a series of firm knocks. I waited anxiously for an answer, unsure who I was going to come face to face with. I picked at a loose threat on my sling that had stuck out at a 90 degree angle ever since I snagged it on the corner of my mirror a few days earlier. I'd be glad to get rid of the thing, as well as the cast that was now less of a crisp white and more of a well hydrated piss yellow. My skin itched beneath it and I'd had the urge on more than one occasion to saw the thing off myself. I blew a puff of air at the stray hair that had escaped my ponytail, unsticking it from my lashes and attempting to halt my fidgeting. That's when the door opened, and I was thankful to find that I hadn't been thrown in at the deep end and greeted with Peter, but in fact was now face to face with the slightly pitying, kind of horrified but mostly sad, expression of May.

"Elizabeth, hi... wow you look..."

"Like crap? Yeah, I know." She gestured with her head, standing aside and allowing me to come in.

"Well I mean, you're not looking your best, but I wouldn't say crap..." I grinned, appreciating the way her sadness had turned into amusement as she attempted to lighten the mood with a joke. It was always easy to see why Peter loved her so much.

"Is Peter here? I need to talk to him." She threw her head back, clapping her hands in front of her as if she were praying.

"Honestly, thank god. He hasn't stopped wallowing for days and it's driving me insane. He's in his room, please go and talk." Clearly Tony wasn't the only one suffering from Peter's apparently irritating self-pity.

I nodded, offering my thanks before heading along the familiar corridor and pausing outside of his door. I didn't normally knock, but walking straight in didn't feel like an appropriate thing to do right now, so I rapped my knuckles gently against the wood and waited for a response.

"Els." He looked surprised to see me as he opened the door, clinging to the handle in silence as he waiting for one of us to speak.

"Hey Pete... can we talk?" My voice seemed to snap him out of his daze and he stepped aside, gesturing for me to enter and closing the door behind me as I did.

I dropped onto his bed, a sorrowful smile towards him as I nodded for him to join me, patting the sheets in the space beside me in encouragement. He upheld his silence as he took a seat on the bed, his eyes cast downward as we both waited for the other to speak. I picked at my fingers subconsciously, my vision blurring out of focus as I stared at the books and stationary that littered his desk. One of us had to speak, and I wanted to. I had so much to say.

"I thought you wanted to talk." He finally broke the silence, turning his head to glance at me with a sad expression, one which I mirrored.

"I'm not really sure where to start." His quiet sigh, accompanied by a nod confirmed his understanding as he straightened in his seat and twisted to face me.

"Then I'll start. I'm sorry." I watched him quietly as he spoke, not wanting to interrupt whatever speech he was about to dive into.

"I'm sorry that I shouted at you, and that I wouldn't let you speak. I'm so sorry I wouldn't listen to you and I can only beg you to forgive me for hurting you. You know I would never want to hurt you in any way. It's not an excuse but, I was angry because I was scared..." I knew he probably had a lot more to say but it was time for me to interject, and so I cut him off.

"I forgive you." It was simple and to the point, and it was all I needed to say in this moment.

"You forgive me?" He seemed taken aback by my ease in brushing his actions under the carpet. Yes, I'd been upset by how angry he'd got, and angry that he'd hurt me, but it would never be worth losing what we had.

"I will forgive you for every transgression, every argument and harsh word, until the day I die. There is _nothing_ we can argue about that will ever be worth losing each other." I was yanked forward before I had a chance to prepare myself, arms wrapping around my shoulders and pressing me into his chest in a tight hug. It felt nice, to be back where I was most happy, as though nothing had ever happened. But it had. And it was time for me to explain why it had happened. To tell him everything in exactly the way I hoped he would tell me his secrets. A part of me hoped that maybe this would be the prompt he needed.

I broke our hug, pushing myself away and creating space between us as he watch me warily, as though maybe he had done something to upset me again. I offered him slight reassurance by slipping my hand into his and giving it a quick squeeze.

"I have secrets, Peter." He narrowed his eyes, looking as though he wanted to pry yet remaining silent in expectation of me continuing.

"Pretty damn big secrets, that no one else knows. Apart form Tony and Pepper of course... and probably at least some of whoever's left of S.H.I.E.L.D. But that's not the point. The point is, that you don't know these secrets, and I think you deserve to. When I went to England, I took away your right to know what was going to happen to someone you care about, and that isn't fair. When you care about someone you deserve to know if they're in danger. And I am, in danger." He called my speech to a stop by scooting closer with a serious expression.

"Before you say anything, I want you to know that if you don't want to tell me something you don't have to." A gentleman, as always. And he was right, I didn't need to tell him anything I didn't want to. But somewhere between leaving the beach house and seeing him here, what I wanted had changed. I was dead set on the fact that I wasn't going to tell him about my childhood until I understood it myself... but being here had made me realise something. I couldn't work this all out on my own, and even if I could, I didn't want to, because I was scared. I was uncovering secrets that were going to turn my world upside down and no one should have to go through that alone. Yes, I had Tony, but this was different. Peter had become something to me that I would never truly understand, but I knew it meant that we were a vital part of each other's lives. So somewhere between Southampton and Peter's bedroom, I'd decided that tonight was the night I was going to tell him the truth.

"I want to tell you, Peter. I want you to know everything. No secrets, and no lies." The flash of guilt in his eyes told me that perhaps that was what he wanted too... no secrets and no lies. But whether he would spill his secrets or not was yet to be seen. It was odd, sitting before him now that I knew the truth. Knowing that Peter was Spider-man was bizarre because right now, nothing seemed different. He was my best friend, the boy I had secretly and unexpectedly fallen in love with. He was Peter Parker and that was all that mattered. I'd been chasing his secrets for so long that now I was in the know, it just felt irrelevant, because it changed nothing.

"Okay... whatever you want to tell me, I'm listening. You can tell me anything El-bell." I breathed a deep sigh, glancing up at the ceiling as I turned everything over in my head.

"Where do I start..." I breathed a laugh at the thought, a million different words and facts flying around my brain fighting for place in the story I was about to share.

"So wait... you were literally born into HYDRA as an experiment?" I rolled my eyes, releasing a quiet groan followed by a laugh. He'd asked the exact same question about five times now, appearing unable to process that particular part of the story, despite the fact I'd just admitted a million other mind blowing things to him, for example, that I was having dream visions. But clearly the HYDRA baby part was a crazier revelation than my psychic abilities.

In the process of the storytelling, we'd ended up in one of our more common positions, lounged across the bed, Peter propped up against his pillows and my head resting against a cushion on his lap. Somewhere in the last hour or so, all the tension of our previous falling out had dissipated, too engrossed in what we were talking about to remember the fact I was still looking beat to crap, Peter had yelled at me and we hadn't spoken for a week. Everything felt like it was back to normal... well as normal as it could be considering my past and Peter's superhero secret, a secret that he still didn't know that I knew. But I got the feeling that was going to be an issue for another time, we had other things to talk through first.

"Why is that the part you're struggling to come to terms with? Not the dream visions, or the fact they're still looking for me?" He breathed a laugh, his shoulders bobbing in a nonchalant shrug as his fingers combed aimlessly through my hair.

"Well I mean those are all extremely surprising points too, but I'm just trying to understand the foundations of this... Like, I knew you were adopted but... you really have no idea who, or what, your parents were." I shrugged with a sad smile.

"Not a clue... but screw them, right?" He seemed more than slightly concerned by my blasé attitude, perhaps worried that I was suppressing something that needed to be talked about. He was wrong though. I'd never cared much for the history of my biological parents. Either they cared about me and I was taken away, which was sad yeah, but had they looked for me since? No. Or the other option was that they willingly handed me over to HYDRA, in which case... fuck them.

"Look, my biological parents aren't important to me. It's never been a part of my story that I've gotten hung up on because I have a family. Whoever they were, they were never really... anything to me, so they're not worth the time." It made me guilty, to be so careless speaking about my biological parents when Peter had his stolen away from him. But then again, it wasn't as though I hadn't lost equally as much. Howard and Maria were my mom and dad, despite how short a time that might have been for.

I pushed myself up to sit as he shuffled in his seat, readjusting his legs and stretching his back out with a deep breath. I wasn't really sure what else to say, and having spent the last hour talking I didn't really feel the want to add any more to that conversation, so I remained silent while we watched each other carefully, each of us processing our own thoughts on every crazy thing that had just been thrown out there. Peter was the first to speak.

"So... that was... something. Like that was a lot to process," He wasn't wrong, and truth be told, I was still processing it all myself. "But... it honestly means the world to me that you told me all of that."

"Like I said; no secrets, no lies." I don't think I'd ever meant anything more in my life. I didn't want to lie any more and I didn't want to keep things from him. Of course, I was still hiding my feelings towards him, and the fact that I knew he was Spider-man, but the feelings were a topic for another day, when I was less of a mess, and the Spider-man thing was his secret to tell, not mine to reveal. But while we were on that subject... I saw my opportunity, and so I took it. "How about you? Any big secrets to reveal? Any Nazi organisational affiliations? C'mon, spill."

I noted his hesitation, the way his lips twitched at the corners and his eyes widened just a millimetre for a fraction of a second, but it was gone as soon as I had seen it. Instead, he opted for a quiet laugh and wide smile.

"Fortunately, no. I'm just boring old me." Unfortunately, it looked as though I wasn't getting any big reveals today. That was okay though... now I'd given him his chance and he'd chosen not to take it, meaning my plan of action could officially begin. Give it a few days and all would be out in the open, I'd finally have my answers and there would be complete clarity between us. Again, apart for the being completely and hopelessly in love with him thing, that could stay hazy for a little while longer.

"So you're not gonna tell me what you've been hiding then?" There was no use tiptoeing around the subject anymore, I'd called him out and he'd admitted he was hiding something, so there was no taking that back. It was up to him now to decide when, or if, I could be trusted with that secret. Of course, the secret was no longer, but that was beside the point. He closed his eyes with a sigh before returning my gaze with a sad look.

"I thought about it..."

"And?" I waited with expectation, not hopeful that he would finally tell me the truth but always open to the possibility of a miracle.

"Seeing you like this," His fingers reached out to my face, his especially gentle and careful touch sending a tingling sensation through the faded bruises and cuts that still littered my skin. "It scares me El... what if I tell you the truth and next time I'm the reason you get hurt?"

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, but in all honesty I hadn't expected the truth tonight. I'd offered up my story as a gesture of goodwill, to show that there was trust between us but it didn't matter. It didn't matter because trust wasn't the problem here. He and I both knew that he trusted me with any secret, even with his life should the situation arise, so I'm sure he would trust me more than anyone with his secret, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that I would always be a target to him. I would always be another life he was putting in the firing line and if his feelings towards me were anywhere near how I felt about him, I understood his hesitance completely, especially now I knew what the stakes were. So I nodded in silent acceptance, closing my eyes and resting my head against his shoulder for a quiet moment before rising from my seat.

"I'm not going to ask again, and I'm not going to force you to tell me. Whatever it is you're hiding, I want you to want to tell me. So whenever you decide you're ready to talk, I'm ready to listen."

I crossed the room to his desk, picking up the stack of Polaroid's that sat neatly in the corner with a small smile. They captured a time where I'd probably been at my happiest in the last few weeks. It was my 16th birthday a couple of weeks ago, before all of this drama happened. It wasn't long since that day but it felt like a millennia, so much happening between then and now. My face was free of the cuts and bruises that currently tainted it, my lips in a wide grin and my eyes squeezed shut to the sunlight that blinded me. Peter's arm was outstretched, holding the camera that had captured the moment as his other arm enveloped me in a hug. I remembered the moment fondly, the two of us laying back on the sand in each other's embrace, laughing about something that was probably hilarious at the time but I couldn't quite remember now. I flicked through the stack of photos, each one conveying another happy moment. I made a note to make copies of these myself before placing them back in their neat pile on the desk.

"How about that movie marathon?" I glanced over my shoulder to where he still sat, legs crossed and lounging against the cushions, his eyes locked on me with a kind smile. I wanted that, to have a movie marathon like everything was fine. To lean against his chest with his arm slung over my shoulder, a blanket around us and a bowl of popcorn between us. But truth be told everything wasn't fine, not yet. We were okay, yeah, but we still had secrets and we still had lies. There were so many more things we needed to work through before we could fall back into our normal routine. Either way, tonight wasn't the night for that. I'd said my piece, our apologies had been shared and we were no longer ignoring each other so that would have to be enough for now.

I sighed, turning to face him and leaning against the desk with my arms folded over my chest. Time to make my excuses I suppose, though it was hard to look him in his innocent little eyes and tell him why I couldn't stay.

"I've got a lot of work to catch up on tonight... being in hospital plus Tony's banishment has set me back a bit. Plus, if I don't get home soon Tony will probably think I've run off to another country again. He's still on edge about that." It wasn't a lie, I had a tonne of work to do and no doubt Tony was glancing intermittently at the time to check how long I'd been gone. Not that I was actually going to do any work tonight... I was going to get home, put my pyjamas on and watch some crappy TV with my big brother, but the facts didn't matter. Despite being 100% sure I didn't want to stay here tonight, it didn't stop me feeling guilty at the kicked puppy look he was currently sporting in response to my rejection of his plans.

"Oh, ok... well call me and we'll do it soon?"

"You bring the snacks, I'll build the blanket fort." He perked up a little at this comment, hopping up from the bed and crossing the room to stand before me.

"Deal." I took his waiting pinky finger in mine as he waggled it in my direction, sealing the deal with the secret handshake that we loved and Maddie insisted was childish and made her sick. "C'mon, I'll walk you out."

We didn't bump into May on the way out, which I was grateful for as I was feeling like I'd met my socialising quota of the day. I paused at the open front door, my shoulder and head resting against the wooden frame as I regarded my friend. My beautiful, brave, superhero idiot of a best friend who my heart had decided to latch on to. While I still hadn't outright revealed my feelings to him, and couldn't imagine doing anything of the sort any time soon, there was a word I needed to say. Because sometimes when you feel something so strongly, it needs to be voiced otherwise it sits there, on the tip of your tongue like the bad aftertaste of a food you don't like. It becomes something you're acutely aware of and have to fight to keep suppressed. So I wouldn't, not any more.

"You know that I love you, right?" Of course, this wasn't me declaring romantic love to my best friend, no matter how much I felt it. No, this was the same way you'd tell a family member you love them. It means just as much, if not more, yet it doesn't feel scary to say because it's just something that's known. It's not a revelation because it's shared and it's natural.

"I love you too, Els." His quick return of the phrase, not a moments hesitation in it, told me that he understood too. Even if nothing romantic ever happened between the two of us, we would always love each other more than the word could ever really convey, because we were family.

"See ya, Pete." He moved forward, placing a quick kiss on my forehead in an act that felt far more intimate that any interaction we'd ever shared yet was simultaneously the most natural thing in the world.

"See you soon, El-bell." Our eyes were both closed as we lingered there for a moment, his breath warm against my face while he spoke, my hand finding his with a gentle squeeze. Then just like that, the space between us had returned, my feet taking a reluctant step back as I offered a small smile before turning on my heel and heading for the stairs, acutely aware of his eyes following me until I was out of sight.

The building was quiet when I got home, the tv screen black and no chatter to be heard from the lounge. Assuming that Tony and Pepper must have headed off to bed, I flicked my shoes off, heading for the couch with a sigh, stretching out my tired arms on the way. A quick glance at my watch told me it was 11:30pm, a guilty voice in my head telling me I probably should have shot Tony a text or something to let him know what I was up to. Although, I figured that if he was relaxed enough to go to bed he couldn't have been worrying that much.

I flung my bag off my shoulder and onto the couch, ready to drop onto the cushions alongside it before a startled groan halted me. In the darkness of the unlit room, I'd failed to see the body that occupied the chair, blankets strewn haphazardly over him as he stretched out comfortably.

"Tony?" My bag tumbled to the floor as he righted himself, lips stretching in a long yawn and blankets cast aside. My eyes scanned him top to bottom, brows knotted in a confused frown.

"Why are you sleeping on the couch?" My confusion quickly gave way to disappointment and my arms folded defensively over my chest. "What did you do to Pepper?"

"What?" Clearly my analysis was way off as he shook his head with a wave of his hand, dismissing my assumptions with a scoff.

"I didn't do anything, I'm an amazing other half." I quirked a brow, recalling all the times he had been anything but amazing as Pepper's other half. Picking up on what I was thinking, his eyes narrowed as he silently dared me to say what was on my mind. I raised my hands in defeat, dropping onto the couch beside him and gathering the blankets on top of me.

"Okay, so why are you sleeping on the couch?" He seemed to hesitate for a moment, smoothing out his ruffled hair with a quiet cough.

"You didn't call." Any skepticism towards him left me immediately, a pang of guilt beginning to gnaw at my chest in response to his words. There I was, cuddled up with Peter, without a though for my own brother, sat here worried sick about me because I couldn't pick up a phone for five minutes.

"Shit, Tony I'm so sorry I should have called... we were just talking, about like... everything and we got carried away and lost track of time an-" He held up a hand to silence me, patting me on the knee with a small shake of his head.

"It's fine. You're 16 you shouldn't have to check in with your big brother. I know you're responsible... sometimes. I gotta get over what happened and trust that you're not going to do something stupid like that again. I just wanted to wait up to make sure you got home okay... what with all the HYDRA stuff." I understood, of course. I would never be mad at him for checking up on me and I didn't expect for a second that he would be over what happened this soon. But the fact he was trying meant the world to me.

"I'm glad you waited up..." I pulled my lip between my teeth, gnawing at the skin anxiously before taking a breath.

"I told him." Tony didn't reply, just turning his full attention to me and waiting patiently for me to elaborate. I didn't know why, but a part of me worried that he would be mad. There was no reason for him to be mad, it was - mostly - my secret to tell, but this was my life we were talking about, and I'd just entrusted it to a 15 year old boy.

"Everything about me, about my childhood and HYDRA... I told Peter all of it."

"And? Does he think you're crazy? Or dangerous? Did he tell you to get out of his life and never talk to him again?" Clearly someone had been talking to Pepper about me. I rolled my eyes, not meeting his gaze as I shrugged.

"No... he didn't do any of those things." The smug smirk I was receiving told me all I needed to know about my brother's feelings towards the situation.

"I could have told you that, stupid. You never had anything to worry about. You could reveal that you're an active member of the mafia and he would probably ask if he could help out." A snort of a laugh escaped me at Tony's completely accurate statement, but my smile quickly dropped.

"He hasn't told me what he's hiding though. He said that seeing me like this," I gestured lightly to my face, waving my cast between us, "has just made him all the more reluctant to tell me. He said that he doesn't want the next time I get hurt to be because of him."

I tugged the blankets closer, accepting them as a form of security right now, somewhat of a wall between me and the harsh reality of the world. However, no amount of blankets could keep me from the brotherly advice heading my way.

"There's something that he hasn't realised yet, Els. No amount of secrets will ever protect the people you love. I've had to learn that the hard way, most of us do. He's seen what secrets can do to people, and I can only hope that he realises what a mistake he's making before he has to learn like I did. But I have faith in the kid. I know he's gonna do right by you so just hang in there, he'll get there eventually."

"Oh big brother, when did you get so wise? And when did you start liking Peter?" I responded dramatically, after taking in every word of his speech with intense interest. He was right, he had to be, because I too had seen what secrets can do and I prayed I didn't have to suffer for unsaid words ever again.

"I've always been wise you just don't normally listen. And I started liking him when I saw how freaked out he was you got hurt. I can't handle being the only one worrying about you. Now, scram, we both need to get to bed." I held up my hands with a groan and a mumble of agreement, flinging the blankets over the back of the couch and scooping up my bag. I crossed the room with a halfhearted wave over my shoulder, pausing at the door as I was called back.

"Hey kid. I'm glad you and Peter have sorted things out. You're good for each other." I paused in the doorway, leaning against the frame with the ghost of a smile and a small shake of my head.

"He's good for me. I'm a nightmare." He followed my footsteps coming to stand in front of me with a nod of agreement.

"Can't argue with that... Night Els." De-ja-vu would be a good description for the current moment, me leaning against the doorframe as a kiss was pressed into my forehead, Tony's affectionate act unintentionally directly mirroring that of Peter just a little while earlier.

"Goodnight, Tony." I stretched onto my tiptoes, returning his kiss with a quick peck to his cheek before slipping through the door and off to my bedroom.


	16. Leap of Faith

The last week or so had gone by in a bit of a haze. Between making up with Peter, continuing with planning and carrying out Ivy foundation classes, working on Pete and I's satellite project and helping out with the move, I'd been rushed off my feet and hadn't had a moment to relax in what felt like an age. It wasn't an unfamiliar state of affairs for me, I'd always liked to keep busy, but even I felt like I needed a rest. Which is why I'd woken up this morning determined that today would be different, a break from all the madness to spend time doing what I enjoyed the most… watching crappy TV and eating with Peter. Well, that's what I planned to do after I'd craftily extracted his secrets from him, if he wasn't too mad at me to hang out once I'd carried out my slightly mad plan.

I'd been in and out of the city over the last week, which wasn't the worst thing as it was nice to have a change of scenery, but I had to admit I was getting a bit sick of driving. While the upstate facility was incredible, and exactly what the Avengers needed, it wasn't exactly the most convenient place for me to live, when my job and my friends required me to be in the heart of Manhattan on the daily. Perhaps I could convince Tony to let me have my own apartment in the city… probably not.

In a way, the distance and slight isolation of being all the way over at the upstate facility had been very helpfully timed, as it had given me time to plan in peace. Ever since that evening with Peter, when I had bared my soul and he had given me diddly squat in return, the cogs had been turning, working overtime on the perfect plan to get him to admit to me once and for all, that he was Spider-Man. Now, of course, I'd had an idea of a plan from the get go, and I was fairly certain that I was going to go with it, but it did have a few… minor flaws. And when I say minor, I mean major and potentially life threatening, though I had made it through 16 years of life with 'potentially life threatening' not affecting my bad decisions so why start now.

While Maddie's evidence had proven with at least 98% surety that Peter was Spider-man, and the theory made complete sense when paired with everything else we knew about him, my brother, Germany and all related topics, there was still that 2% that was niggling at my brain, telling me that until the words had actually been said, there was a chance I was wrong. But I was Elizabeth Stark, and 25% surety would probably have been enough for me to commit to such a stupid decision, so my mind was set.

 _As I said before, do not tell me what you are planning, that way I have plausible deniability when Tony finds out and loses his mind._

I rolled my eyes, snorting a laugh at the text from Maddie that had just come through. I'd been trying to get her to help me with my plan, but by the looks of it, this was one I'd be doing alone. It was also one I'd be doing as far below radar as possible, as Maddie was certainly right about my brother finding out and losing his mind. If details of what I was planning got back to him, he'd likely kill me himself, and probably Peter along with me.

 _Why do you think he'll lose his mind? You don't even know what I'm doing… Whatever though, miss out on all the fun, I'll fill you in on all the details tomorrow morning._

I dropped my phone onto the couch beside me, sucking in a deep breath as I slipped my feet into my sneakers and pulled a cosy white jumper over my head, blowing the flyaway hairs that had escaped my french braids out of my face. My gaze was locked on my phone while I composed myself, rolling my shoulders and grabbing the device before I changed my mind. My heart rate increased noticeably as I listened to the repetitive ring, thankfully not having too long to wait.

 _"_ _Hey Els."_ This had to be it, there was no going back now, not if I wanted the truth.

"Hey Pete, do you wanna hang out tonight?" If my voice sounded a little too high pitched, or my words a little rushed, he didn't point it out and for that I was thankful. My nerves were definitely starting to get the better of me and I knew I'd have to reign it in if I didn't want him getting suspicious.

 _"_ _Yeah sure, wanna hang at mine? You can stay the night, May won't mind."_ No Pete, I have plans.

"Uh, yeah sure, staying the night would make life easier… I actually had a plan for the evening though, if that's alright?" The line went silent for a moment, and I worried that maybe he had hung up, or perhaps I'd made my nerves too obvious and he'd gotten suspicious.

 _"_ _What kind of plan?"_ My lips pulled into a smirk. He'd never been able to resist partaking in my schemes, though somehow I didn't see him enjoying this one as much as usual.

"It's a surprise… I want you to meet me somewhere. I'll leave now and I'll text you the address." I had abandoned the couch at this point, my car keys swinging from my finger as I waited by the door for his confirmation.

 _"_ _I'm intrigued… Text me the address I'll meet you there."_ I sucked in a satisfied breath, slipping out of the door and practically skipping towards my car.

"See you soon, Petey." I send a noisy kiss through the phone to which he simply responded with a vomiting sound before hanging up.

The car keys were in the ignition and the car was roaring to life in a matter of minutes, keen to get to my destination as soon as possible, mostly to get this over with. I was being stupid and reckless, I knew that, but when had I ever been anything else? Plus, a Stark could never stand by complacently while being kept in the dark, we always got what we wanted one way or another.

I rolled into the city with a clear image of what lay ahead, a definitive outline of how this evening would play out. I wasn't nervous, and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but at this point it didn't particularly matter because I'd made my mind up. Anyone who knew me was acutely aware that once I set my mind to something it was a definite, it would happen, and it would probably happen soon. As well as being extremely determined, I was impatient. Once I'd decided to do something I couldn't wait, and this mindset had led to a number of terrible decisions in the past. But not this time. There was nothing terrible about this decision, apart from the possibility of death but that was currently sitting at about 2% so I wasn't overly concerned.

It was a cool evening, yet the late sun still shone over the city and warmed the streets that basked in its glow below. I picked at the sleeve of my jumper, which I had paired with black Vans sneakers and dark blue mom jeans. For some bizarre reason, I felt like the outfit I wore when doing this was important, as though it would play a crucial part in the memory when looking back, which was stupid, really.

"What are we doing up here?" I turned to face Peter, who was currently scanning our surroundings with a curious expression. He had been more than suspicious when I'd pulled up outside of the tall building, a grin on my face and a skip in my step. He was even more suspicious when I led him inside and into the elevator, offering the receptionist a quick wink before the doors closed, and he had practically frozen when I led him up another flight of stairs, out of the door and onto the roof. I smiled, reaching out and taking his hand in mine before making my way around the corner of the brick wall beside us, pulling him along behind me. I paused as we rounded the wall, the tall buildings and long streets of Manhattan coming into view, stretching far into the distance where the sun had taken on a deep burgundy and apricot hue as the warm evening set in.

"Best view in New York." I breathed a sigh, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips as I regarded the city before us. This had been my favourite place for a long time, ever since Tony and I had made a tradition of sneaking up here on many an evening to watch the sunset, which I suppose is exactly what Peter and I were doing right now. I realised fairly quickly, that I had somehow led us hand-in-hand, into an extremely romantic situation that I didn't think either of us were prepared for. But the fact that the deep red sky made his hazel eyes dance as though on fire, or the way the soft breeze tousled his chestnut hair and send my weak emotions into a frenzy would have to take a backseat, as there were more important matters at hand now. Resting my elbows on the wall, I dropped my chin into my hands with a soft sigh as I watched the evening fall. The quiet sounds of traffic and voices drifted up from below, making our hideout seem that much more peaceful, high above all the hustle and bustle. Peter quietly joined me at my side, his attention fixed on the horizon as I cast him a quick sidewards glance.

There was something about him. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on. I might have worked out who he was, what he was, yet there was still something beneath the surface that sparked a curiosity in me. Maddie's help in working out his secret had been invaluable, and I found myself more than excited about how life was going to change once the big reveal happened. I didn't plan to tell Peter that I'd found out his secret, because that wasn't for me to reveal. He was going to tell me, he just didn't realise it yet.

"What are you looking at?" Peter frowned slightly, a small smile curling his lips as he turned his attention away from the view and towards me.

"I'm just trying to figure you out." I mused quietly, turning and hopping up to sit on the wall, twisting a strand of hair between my fingers.

"What is there to work out?" He laughed, pushing away from the wall and raising an inquisitive brow.

"There's something about you Peter Parker, I haven't worked out what it is yet… but there's something." I scanned his face, noting the way his lips twitched into a small smirk as I tapped my index finger against the tip of his nose, before falling back into his usual kind smile.

"Nah, I'm just boring old Peter." I breathed a laugh at the way he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly before returning to his previous position leaning against the wall. _Oh Peter Parker there is not a single thing about you that is boring._

"You are a great many things Peter, but boring isn't one of them." I responded honestly, twisting in my seat and flinging my legs over the wall so that they hung precariously off the edge of the building. I retained my relaxed demeanour, swinging my legs playfully despite the fact I noticed Peter visibly tense beside me. He chuckled nervously as he regarded the way I was sitting, just one wobble away from falling to my death. Good, now his guard was up, this was my chance.

"Maybe you could not sit on the edge of a tall building like that…" He suggested quietly, slipping his hand into mine and urging me to climb down from the ledge. I grinned mischievously down at him, slipping my hand out of his and quickly hopping up onto my feet, holding my arms out to each side and balancing precariously on the thin wall that surrounded the roof of the high-rise.

"What's wrong? Not a fan of heights?" My jest didn't seem to be appreciated as he frowned at me from below, holding his hands out despairingly in the hope I would take them and let him remove me from the currently dangerous position I had adopted.

"Heights are fine, I'd just prefer it if you didn't fall to your death tonight." I chuckled at his visible distress, his eyes scrutinising my every move as though any minute I might just hop off the edge and disappear forever. Little did he know… He was good at hiding it though I had to admit. But I wouldn't fall, he would never let that happen and we both knew it.

"Peter Parker, I didn't realise you cared." I batted my lashes, spinning expertly on my toes to face the other direction, my arms remaining out to the sides to balance myself. I faked a slight wobble, just to add to my dramatic show, hoping to extract some sort of response from him. Unfortunately, so far all I was getting was annoyance, anxiety and frowns. Looked like I was going to have to go all out with this one, and a part of me was glad. Well, I didn't plan this whole thing just to have him admit the truth immediately. Where was the fun in that?

"Elizabeth, I am literally begging you to come down from there." He pleaded, gesturing for me to come towards him, towards safety. I sucked a quiet breath in through my nose, steadying myself and preparing for what I was about to do. My gaze cast towards the boy below me, who was still watching me closely, anxiety practically dripping from his every pore. It was strange, looking at him in this light, so real and powerless. Just as you would imagine any normal 15 year old boy to be. But I knew better, he wasn't any normal 15 year old boy, and really I wasn't a normal 16 year old girl either. Two children forced to grow up so soon. I'd be sure to apologise for stressing him out later, but for now, it was the only way I was going to get answers. Well, probably not the only way, but certainly the most fun. Besides, if no one was going to tell me the truth, I would have to find out in my own way.

I turned my attention back to the horizon, ignoring Peter's pleas as I took a few slow steps along the wall. _I sure hope you're right about this Els…_ I brushed away my thoughts, taking another slow step, my foot teetering on the very edge of the stone ledge. Well, here goes nothing.

I didn't look back as I stepped off the edge, putting absolute confidence and faith into Peter's abilities as I waited for the fall. My heart leapt in my chest as my feet left the ledge, everything feeling as though it was moving in slow motion as I began to fall, my eyes refusing to squeeze shut as I regarded the city below. I readied myself for the drop, prepared to feel the wind in my hair as I ascended. Though it never came.

I hung precariously over the edge, a tugging at my waist alerting me to the fact something was halting my fall. I grinned deviously, far too pleased about the fact my plan had worked. Before I had a chance to think about what was going on, I was promptly yanked back onto the safety of the roof. I would have hit the floor in a most uncomfortable and ungraceful manner had it not been for the waiting arms that caught me as I tumbled back.

I glanced up to meet Peter's now wide eyed expression, a mixture of relief, irritation and panic washing over him all at once. We remained frozen in that position for a few moments, neither of us capable of composing a coherent sentence to break the silence.

Eventually, I steadied my footing, slipping out of his arms and taking a step back so as I could face him properly. I released a shaky breath, still slightly unnerved from my almost fall. The silence between us was thick with anticipation, both of us waiting for the other to say something. I glanced to his hand, where a thin white web now hung, protruding from what assumed was a device concealed in his sleeve. My lips stretched into a wide grin, my arms folding over my chest as I rested back against the wall casually.

"I knew it." I announced quietly, tilting my head slightly with a chuckle as I tugged at the web in a failed attempt to remove it from my jumper. Peter simply watched me nervously, chewing on his lip as he considered how to respond. Eventually he released a long sigh, his arms falling to his sides as he admitted defeat.

"How did you find out?" I shrugged with a small pout, sucking my lip in between my teeth as I offered a slightly guilty expression.

"Madelyn is an incredible detective... and Happy isn't great at deleting emails. But I suppose I didn't really know for sure, but now I do." Peter's defeat was soon replaced with both irritation and shock as I voiced the revelation. Clearly he didn't appreciate my reckless behaviour, something Tony would surely be thankful for.

"Wait, you weren't sure?!" He threw his hands up in exasperation, spinning on the spot and running his hands through his hair. I felt a twinge of guilt as I observed him, his worry for my safety mimicking that of my brother on many an occasion.

"I was like 99.9% sure... I saw your video from your trip to Berlin. Kinda gave it away." I sighed, offering an apologetic smile as he turned to face me. My words didn't seem to be doing much to calm him as he watched me, dumfounded by my casual demeanour. "I took a leap of faith..."

"Jesus Els! 'Leap of faith' is supposed to be metaphorical! What if you'd been wrong? You could have died!" I held out my hands in a calming manner, taking a few slow steps towards him as he worked to compose himself.

"But I wasn't, and I didn't," My words were quiet as I smiled, taking another small step closer and slipping my fingers into his. His eyes flicked between our hands and my face a few times before he settled with his gaze locked on mine.

He remained quiet, choosing to silently study me as I stood before him, my thumb tracing soothing circles over the back of his hand. It was exactly new, the two of us sharing a silent moment like this, the only sounds audible being the low hum of traffic in the distance along with our quiet breaths, but it was unfamiliar. Something, in the last few moments, felt as though it had shifted between us, and while it was unfamiliar, I definitely wouldn't say it was unpleasant. I found myself slightly caught off guard when Peter slipped his hand out of mine, his fingers instead finding their way up to my face, tucking a messy strand of hair behind my ear after it had escaped during my almost fall. Despite my absolute disgust in anything that even resembled a cliche, it was as though I stopped breathing in that moment, out of fear that should I move an inch, the moment would be gone as quickly as it had arrived.

We were closer now, mere inches between us. Despite this, our gazes remained locked. That was until Peter breathed out a chuckle, his eyes dropping downward as he shook his head.

"You're crazy… completely insane." His voice was a hushed whisper, yet all his earlier annoyance had left it, only amusement and what I could have sworn was amazement left in his tone.

"I'm a Stark, that's kind of a given." I shrugged with a smirk. He barked out a laugh, throwing an arm around my shoulder before pulling me into a tight hug. I grinned into his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist as I savoured this feeling before it was gone.

"So… you're Spider-man huh… that's pretty cool." I mumbled into his chest, allowing him to break our hug, his hands remaining snaked around my shoulders.

"It's _so_ cool." He grinned, a childlike excitement in his eyes that sent a warm feeling through my core. I smiled up at him, enjoying the purity of his joy in that moment, my smile faltering slightly as his lips twisted into a frown.

"What is it?" I queried, enjoying the way we were yet to release each other from our comfortable holds. He looked down at me, his brows furrowing.

"Your brother is going to kill me." He mumbled, the pure anxiety of the thought visible on his face. I wriggled from his grasp, reaching up to run a comforting hand through his hair, enjoying the way he tensed slightly at the touch before relaxing.

"You're right… he is going to kill you." I shrugged with a smirk before taking a step back and heading towards our exit. I left him behind, frozen to the spot as he released a nervous laugh.

"But you'll protect me, right?" He called out, a playful edge to his tone. I spun to face him, continuing to take a few small steps backwards as I shot him a mischievous grin.

"I'm sure you can protect yourself… Spider-man." With that I slipped through the door to the stairwell, just hearing Peter's amused laugh and footsteps as he ran to catch me up. One thing was for sure. There was no well in hell I was going to tell Tony this version of events.

"So it's not true that you got your powers from eating spiders in your sleep?" I had assumed my usual position on Peter's bed, legs up against the wall and head hanging over the edge upside down. At my comment, his expression morphed from one of amusement to one of utter confusion in a matter of seconds.

"What? No… why would you think that?" I shrugged, tapping a toe against the wall absentmindedly as I accepted the square of chocolate he was holding out to me.

"Mm'Idunno," I hummed through my mouthful of chocolate, resting my hands on my stomach with another shrug. "I read it on the internet somewhere, some Spider-man conspiracy site… did you know you swallow around eight spiders a year while you're sleeping?"

He narrowed his eyes, remaining silent and offering a look that managed to portray confusion, disgust and disappointment all at once.

"That… is really not true…" I cut him off before he could jump into a lecture about the science and biology, or whatever, of something I didn't particularly care about.

"Whatever, so how did it happen?" Rolling onto my belly, I rested my chin in my hands and watched him expectantly.

"Spider bite, during a school trip to some labs. Ned thinks it was radioactive or something." At this, I hopped up from my position, folding my legs underneath me with a frown.

"Radioactive? And you're not dead?" He made a show of scanning over his arms and hands, checking that each limb moved properly before shooting me a grin.

"Nope, at least not yet." I rolled my eyes, launching a cushion at him with a frown.

"Good, you're not allowed to die," I watched him as he made his way over to the bed, carrying the cushion with him and replacing it on his bed before dropping down beside me and flopping comfortably onto his back. I followed his lead, settling back on my belly as I lay onto his chest and rested my head on his shoulder, his arm naturally coming to wrap around my back and hold me against him. I realised, far too late, that this placed us extremely close, noses brushing as he turned his head to face me. Though, if our closeness bothered him, he didn't let it show. So neither would I.

"Ever." He smiled softly at my whispered word, entwining his fingers with mine and releasing a quiet sigh.

"I don't think I can live forever, Els." I quirked a brow, squeezing his hand gently as I scanned his face, from the warm hazel of his eyes to the soft pink of his lips. I blinked to pull myself back, internally reprimanding myself for letting my mind wander, as it had started doing more and more around him.

"Fine," My voice was soft and quiet, given the fact that we were so close to each other that any louder and I might as well have been shouting in his face. "But you're not allowed to leave me." He breathed a chuckle, squeezing me a little tighter against him.

"Where do you think I'm going?" My gaze dropped from his as I pondered this question. Honestly, I wasn't even entirely sure why I'd said it. Of course he wasn't going anywhere, so why did I think he was?

"I don't know… I just- don't leave me, okay?" The frown lines on his forehead showcased his concern, and I quickly moved my free hand, smoothing out his frown with a quirk of a smile.

"I'm not going anywhere, El-Bell." His voice was hardly more than a whisper as his hand came up to capture mine where it had remained resting on his cheek as I watched him contemplatively.

I'd stopped denying the way I felt about him a long time ago, all the way back in Paris when I'd realised that there was absolutely no way I could ignore my feelings anymore, and not a chance in hell I could ever get by without him by my side. But that didn't mean I'd done anything about it, because I was a coward and the little voice in my head was telling me that there was no way that he would like me back. Things didn't work out for me that way.

Despite my insistence on ignoring my feelings, issues had begun to arise when faced with situations like this one, which happened much more often than not nowadays. In fact, I couldn't really remember a day I hadn't spent the majority of it beside Peter, hand in hand or arm in arm, feeling as though we could take on the world together. I noticed the way his eyes momentarily flicked from mine down to my lips and back, and it was amazing how such a simple movement could tie my stomach in knots and send my mind reeling.

It wasn't until he slipped his hand from mine, fingers tracing a path over my cheek and up to my ear, tucking my hair away out of my face that I realised what was happening, or what was about to happen. Clearly he was just as unsure and anxious as me, that much was obvious by the way his fingers trembled slightly, but his face showed no hint of hesitation. I sucked in a breath as he shifted, rolling me over onto my back and essentially switching our positions, the distance between us not increasing an inch in the process.

"Peter…" My voice was a whisper, and I wasn't even sure why I had spoken at all. A very small, teeny tiny voice in the back of my head was telling me to stop whatever was about to happen, but I was more than certain that was just fear talking, so I squashed it down.

"Yeah, Els." His response was just as quiet, and there was a flicker of concern in his eyes as he regarded me. I simply shook my head in a way that told him not to worry, lips twitching in a smile that must have done wonders to reassure him, as his palm lay flat against my cheek, fingers in my hair guiding my face up towards his and closing the few centimetres of space between us.

It was hard to describe that moment, the way I felt, the way my head had suddenly stopped spinning and I felt as though I was simply floating. It was even harder to describe he way his lips felt against mine, just as gentle as I'd always imagined, my own lips tingling slightly at the contact. Any nerves I had been harbouring at the thought of this moment had dissipated as though they had never held any real traction. I became hyperaware of everything, every touch, every breath, every sound, allowing his lips to guide mine in how they should move.

It wasn't as if I hadn't kissed a boy before, I'd kissed plenty of boys, but never like this. It had often been quick, and sloppy, and always meaningless. This couldn't be described using any of those words, because nothing had ever meant more to me than this. His fingers knotted into my hair, a soft sigh escaping my lips as his fingers traced patterns on my skin, his thumb brushing circles over my temple. If there was a word, created especially to describe this moment, it would be 'bliss'. But nothing lasts.

"So I was looking online last night and I saw that-" I could honestly say that I don't think either Peter or I had ever moved as quickly as we did in that moment, breaking apart at lightening speed as Ned stood, looking slightly dumbfounded in the doorway to Peter's room.

I chanced a look Peter's way, noting that he was just as wide eyed and stunned as I was right now, and I thought to myself, that to an outsider this probably would have been an incredibly amusing picture. The fact that none of us were currently speaking, only made the guilt on mine and Peter's faces all the more obvious, and there was nothing I wanted more in that moment than for the ground to open up and swallow me whole.

"Did- were you- did I just-" Ned stumbled over his words, pointing comically between the two of us as his shock morphed to utter glee, lips stretching into a wide and knowing smile.

"Hi Ned!" I interrupted suddenly, and a little forcefully, halting whatever embarrassing sentence was about to come out of his mouth.

"Hello Elizabeth…" He was struggling to contain his grin, folding his arms over his chest and leaning against the doorframe with a quirked brow. "Maybe May should start making you two leave this door open…"

Choking on the gasped breath I had unexpectedly sucked in, I turned to Peter and shot him a pleading look, silently begging him to break his silence and help me out of this awkward situation.

"Els know's that I'm Spider-man!" I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose with a sigh as he blurted out probably the only thing he could think of in that moment to change the subject from our interrupted make-out session.

"She what?!" I peered up through my lashes as Ned slammed the door closed behind him, amazed but relieved that Peter's panic move had done the job.

"I know that he's Spider-man, Ned." I shuffled to the edge of the bed, letting my legs hang as I leaned back onto my hands. His gaze moved from Peter, to me, and back again before he threw his hands in the air dramatically.

"You finally told her, thank god!" I quirked my head, turning to face Peter with a curious look.

"You spoke about telling me?" He simply shrugged, breathing out a sigh.

"We discussed it… a few times. But you know why I didn't tell you." I did, and I nodded with a small smile, placing an understanding hand on top of his before removing it as I noticed the way Ned's eyes were lingering excitedly on our touch.

"So wait, you didn't tell her?" Using his feet to guide him, he rolled the wheely desk chair towards the bed, halting just before us and silently waiting for one of us to enlighten him.

"No, she worked it out and then," He paused, offering me a sideways glance that told me he still wasn't happy about what happened, "She jumped off a building so I'd have to catch her and prove her theory."

"Hold up." Ned interjected, holding his hands up in front of him with narrowed eyes. "Theory…?"

I shied away slightly, pulling my lip between my teeth as Peter rolled his eyes.

"She wasn't 100% sure." Ned's attention turned to me at this point.

"Yet, you jumped off a building?" Well, now they said it like that, of course it seemed stupid and reckless.

"It was a calculated risk…?" Apparently this wasn't what Peter wanted to hear, though at least Ned found it amusing.

"I don't think you understand how calculations work." I shot him a glare, jabbing a finger at him in warning which he simply slapped away with a grumbled comment about how I was insane. My free hand was suddenly captured in a tight grasp, and I turned to see Ned looking at me with something akin to awe.

"If Peter doesn't marry you, can I?" I batted him away with a bark of laughter, and even Peter managed to break from his sulk to have a laugh at the comment. At this point, I would have said yes to marrying anyone if it kept our attention off the only thing I could think about right now.

I'd zoned out somewhat as Ned continued to ramble on about how great this was, and how they could now let me in on all their secrets and inside jokes. I found myself sparing more than a few glances over at Peter who, once or twice, met my eye with a shy smile. No matter how much we talked about Spider-man, there would be no escaping what had happened. Peter had kissed me. I had kissed Peter. Peter and I had kissed. And it was incredible.

After a couple of hours spent convincing Ned that I wasn't going to accidentally (or purposely, which I found quite rude) reveal Peter's secret, we had managed to usher him out of the room, and out of the apartment, thankful that he politely declined May's offer to stay for dinner, not because we didn't want him there, but because it was painfully obvious that Peter and I needed a moment alone. However, that would have to wait until after dinner.

"I am so glad the two of you have made up." May sighed happily as she twisted her fork against her plate, shovelling a mouthful of spaghetti through her lips. I dropped my head with a smile, eyes flicking over to the boy beside me for a moment before returning to my plate.

"Me too." I directed my comment towards Peter, who grinned at me through a mouthful of food, using his free hand to ruffle my hair playfully.

"Honestly," May continued, placing her fork down as though what she was about to say needed to command her full attention. "The friendship the two of you have is like nothing I've ever seen, it's like you were made for each other. When you were fighting, it was honestly heartbreaking for me, so I can't imagine how it was for you."

I sent her a sad smile, recalling vividly exactly how awfully heartbreaking it truly was. She was right, she couldn't imagine.

"I don't think we'll ever _really_ fall out, do you Pete?" He shook his head fervently, slipping his hand into mine with a quick squeeze.

"Impossible." May's grin only widened at this, a glint in her eye as she regarded the way we currently were, sincere smiles and hands entwined. If only she knew.

"Thank god, because this boy," She motioned to Peter with a jab of her fork, who was now watching her with narrowed eyes, "Was an absolute train wreck without you."

Instead of arguing the point, he simply shrugged, confirming that this was true before turning back to his spaghetti. I always enjoyed eating dinner here, because it was so different to dinners back at home. Not that eating with Tony and Pepper didn't feel like home, because it was the exact kind of home I had always dreamed of, but there was something about being here with Peter and May that just felt right. It felt like I had always been destined to end up here.

We cleared away the table and dishes quickly, blushing and attempting to ignore a couple of May's suggestive comments about how we looked like a married couple, before retreating back to Peter's room and closing the door behind us in relief. That was, until we realised that we were now completely alone with the weight of our earlier actions resting on our shoulders. Truth be told, I don't think either of us had even begun to consider how to approach the topic, and it had us standing, at opposite sides of the room in silence.

I busied my hands, moving the items on his desk around aimlessly while attempting to appear as though I was tidying it up. _What the hell are you doing Elizabeth? You're going to tidy his room now, are you?_ I winced as I realised the stupidity of what I was doing, replacing his stapler into its previous position, spending a moment working out what to do with my hands before stuffing them in my pockets with a sigh.

"Els…" My gaze shot up from my feet to his face, his shoulders slightly slumped as he dropped onto his bed and patted the sheets beside him. "Come here."

I complied without a thought, crossing the room and taking a seat beside him, one leg tucked under me as the other hung off the bed, my body turning to face him. I smiled as he slipped his hands into mine, shuffling slightly closer and sighing deeply.

"We don't have to talk about it." I quirked my head, confused by the path he had chosen to take this conversation down. "But… I liked it."

I released the breath I didn't realise I'd been holding. "Me too."

For some reason, he seemed surprised by this, as though I hadn't kissed him back with as much enthusiasm as he had shown. Once he had gotten over this shock, his lips stretched into a wide grin, and he motioned for me to wait as he hopped up from the bed and began rifling through his desk drawers.

"I want you to have this." I watched him curiously as he reclaimed his seat, opening his fingers and holding his hand out to me. In the palm of his hand sat a little silver and red pin, and as he turned it over I couldn't help but laugh. I'd seen these pins a million times before, on bags, blazers and shop counters all over Manhattan, all depicting the web shooting superhero the city had fallen in love with.

"Do you know what this means?" He lowered his voice, as though he was about to tell me his deepest secret.

"What does it mean?" I mimicked his tone.

"It's means you're in the club." I oo'd dramatically, taking the pin from him and attaching it to my jumper with a grin.

"Who else is in the club? Is this what you do to all the girls?" He quirked a curious brow at that comment, looking for me to elaborate. "Invite them into your room, kiss them senseless and then give them a Spider-man pin?"

"Senseless?" He smirked at my dramatic flair accompanying the word 'senseless', lounging back onto the bed with a glint of pride in his eyes.

"Completely lacking sense." I jested, rolling onto my belly and prodding him with my finger, a smirk to match his on my lips.

"Absolutely not El-Bell… I reserve that kind of behaviour for you." My stomach did a little somersault at his words, as well as the way he was currently looking at me. I filled my lungs, releasing a deep sigh as I rolled onto my back beside him, entwining my fingers with his and using my other hand to admire the pin.

"So, it's just me in the club then?" He hummed in thought before shaking his head.

"Well no, Ned's also in the club, but he doesn't get a pin… or kissed senseless." A laugh came out of me in a snort, unable to contain itself at his comment.

"Oh thank goodness for that… Exclusivity, I like it. Makes me feel special." I gushed, fanning my face dramatically with my hand, shooting him a wide grin and fluttering my lashes. Rolling onto his side, he faced me again, taking the pin between his fingers and twisting it thoughtfully.

"That's because you are special." My grin softened at the sincerity of his words, and I momentarily tightened my grip on his hand. "You see this pin? This is the first piece of Spider-man merchandise I ever got… after the city found out about me, some kid on the subway gave me this, told me it had powers to call Spider-man to you if you were ever in trouble."

I couldn't help but smile at the image of Peter on the subway, accepting the pin from a random child who had offered him the most adorable back story for it. The whole situation was just far too sweet to think about.

"So, does this mean that if I wear the pin, you'll always come if I'm in trouble…?" He scoffed, flicking the pin from between his fingers and rolling back over to face the ceiling with a grimace.

"No, the kid was clearly insane. You have a phone, use it." I gawped, fighting off a laugh as I swatted him on the chest, rolling my eyes at the way he overacted the pain.

We laughed together for a while, trading comments about how mad the child clearly was and creating bizarre scenarios about who he was and why he was there. My personal favourite was that he was in fact a god, who shape-shifted into a child to give Peter the pin for a higher reason, that he would come to understand some time in the future, where the pin would save the world.

"Els…" I hummed, turning to face him with a look of concern at the way his smile had suddenly dropped.

"You don't need a magic pin for me to find you if you're in trouble. I'll always be there for you… I won't ever let anyone or anything hurt you." The sudden seriousness of the conversation had me slightly taken aback, but the sincerity in his eyes told me that he had never been more serious about anything in his life.

"I know that, Peter." He nodded silently, appearing as though he was turning something over in his head, and I was sure I knew what it was.

"I get it, you know. I'm not mad that you didn't tell me, I know why you did it." Reaching forward, I brushed a hand over his cheek with a comforting smile. "You will never have to feel guilty about putting me in danger… if we've learned anything the past few months it's that I'm very good at putting _myself_ in danger with absolutely no outside influence."

"That's exactly what Ned said." He nodded with a grin, breathing out a long sigh before closing his eyes.

"Do you remember the store robbery, where I totally saved your ass?" His eyes shot open at this, brow furrowed as he scoffed.

"I think you'll find I saved _your_ ass."

"Whatever helps ya sleep at night." I patted his chest with a patronising smile. "Anyway, I knew something was up then… you felt so familiar. I still can't believe it was you… right there in front of me."

He didn't respond to my comment, instead letting a wicked smirk grow on his lips as he slowly turned to look at me. I narrowed my eyes, unsure of what was going through his head as he trapped me in his devious stare.

"Do you know what I think is a much more important moment for us to remember?" Pushing myself up to sit and arranging the cushions behind me, I folded my arms over my chest, nodding for him to enlighten me.

"You admitting to all of us that you think Spider-man is hot… which means you think I'm hot." My face was quickly covered by my hands to hide my mortification as I recalled the evening of my 16th birthday that he was referring to.

"Oh my god." My voice was muffled through my fingers as I pulled my legs up into my chest and let my head drop against my knees in utter shame.

"I mean, I can put the suit on if that's what works for you…?" I gawped at his comment, not quite as amused as he was as I grabbed the cushion beside me, swinging it deftly towards him and managing to land a hit right on the side of his head.

"Come on Els!" He held his hands up for protection as I crawled forward, drawing the cushion back and landing hit after hit as he struggled to suck in breaths through his laughter. "It's okay if you like my abs, no one's judging."

I hit him one more time, lips curled into a smirk.

"Oh one of us is definitely in danger right now, but it sure as hell ain't me!"


	17. Blame It On The Alcohol

I'd never really been one to feel jealousy. In all honesty, I'd not encountered many situations in my life in which I felt the need to be jealous, besides that time when I was 7 and Catherine Barte wore the same dress as me to Sophie Rich's birthday party, and everyone said it looked better on her. But other than that, I'd been relatively lucky to avoid the bitter emotion. However, that had all changed since I met Peter Parker, and exponentially more so since I had kissed Peter Parker. Either way, there was no denying the heavy lingering sickness I'd felt in the pit of my stomach as I had watched him and Liz in the lab, working together with cheerful chatter and wide smiles. I'd like to think I had been subtle in the way I'd retreated to the far end of the room to work on something on my own, or tactful in covering up the fact I'd snapped the tip of the pencil I was holding out of pure pent up rage, however I don't imagine I was as successful as I'd hoped. In addition to my pencil destruction outburst, if that hadn't already drawn attention to me, the way I hastily dismissed myself from the room following the event certainly did, and I had received a questioning text or two from Ned about that later in the evening.

It was stupid and I knew it. First of all, I had no reason to be jealous because while we may have kissed once, it wasn't as though we were dating, or together, or whatever. And secondly, as far as I was aware there was nothing more than friendship between Peter and Liz. Yet. But that didn't matter, because that sharp nagging voice in the back of my mind just couldn't help but remind me at a near constant rate that it would be so easy for Liz to swoop in with her perfect hair and perfect smile and steal him away, sending me right back to 7 year old second best dressed Elizabeth. Anyway, this emotional turmoil is what had led to the current situation, within which I was emotionally unstable, and Maddie was emotionally at the end of her tether. In short, there was an awful lot of emotion in one room.

"I think it's disgusting, and I think you're pathetic." I glanced up at Maddie through my lashes, her face remaining expressionless as she concentrated on filing her nails.

"Thanks for all your support, it's really helping me right now." My response was sarcastic enough to elicit a reaction from her as she gave up on her nails and released a loud groan.

"I just think you need to either grow some balls and ask him out, or get over it, you know." She dropped the file onto the sofa beside her, replacing it with the remote as she began flicking through the channels, "I vote the latter because he's a child and he's not even that hot."

"Mads he's literally like 4 months younger than us." I attempted to argue, despite the fact I knew that arguing with Madelyn was a never ending battle in which there were no winners.

"Exactly, a child." She shot me a winning smile before turning back to the tv, convinced that she had won this round.

"There is no moving on Madelyn, not from Peter." I muttered, my gaze cast downward to where I picked at a loose thread on the cushion in my lap.

I looked up to see that she was now glaring at me, the remote discarded on the floor as she clapped her hands together. She leapt up from the chair, marching over to me and hauling me up to my feet.

"I'm sick of this okay. He isn't here, it's not like you two have ever shared anything more than a friendly hug," My breath hitched in my throat as I fought to keep my expression neutral. I hadn't told Maddie about our kiss yet, and thankfully Ned had managed to keep the secret too. Of course, I'd immediately told her all about how I'd discovered the Spider-man secret, and she had been less than pleased that she now had to keep that whole fiasco from Tony, but this secret wasn't one I was ready to voice yet. It wasn't that I didn't want her to know, I just hadn't found the right moment, or the courage, to tell her, and given her attitude now, perhaps I'd be best keeping that fact under wraps for just a little longer. "He's probably somewhere drooling over perfect Liz Allan while you're here pining over a boy who's too stupid and stubborn to see what he's missing."

She had this look in her eye as if she had a plan, and it was probably something I wasn't going to like.

"I already know I'm going to hate what you're planning…" I frowned, hesitant to follow her as she marched away towards my room. Realising I hadn't moved, she quickly returned, dragging me along behind her and only stopping once we were standing before my wardrobe.

"We're going out, and you're going to get drunk and talk to cute boys and completely forget about Paul."

"Peter."

"You're already doing a terrible job of forgetting…" She shrugged, ignoring my glares as she began digging through my wardrobe, a variety of dresses, trousers and shirts being flung haphazardly across my bed.

"Where are we even going?" I groaned, resigning myself to the fact that I wouldn't be able to get out of this one.

"Sun Tzu's The Art of War says 'The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting'. We're going to interpret that as, make your enemy your friend, so that they are no longer your enemy." I narrowed my eyes, not quite catching on to where she was going with this.

"Honestly, you've lost me." She groaned, rolling her eyes before dragging me towards the bed and beginning the long process of choosing the perfect outfit.

"I heard that Liz Allen is having a house party tonight." A cunning smile stretched across her lips. "I say we drop in."

"I'm not so sure about this Mads," I complained, my eyes fixed on the road ahead of me as I drove us to our location on the outskirts of the city. I was drumming my fingers against the leather steering wheel, a nervous habit I'd picked up since I'd started driving.

"You are literally driving me insane with your tapping, so I am going to need you to stop before I grab the wheel and steer us into oncoming traffic." I snorted out a laugh at Maddie's dramatic comment, raising my hands in defeat before quickly reclaiming the wheel as I received a stern glare.

"I just don't think this is the best idea. What if Peter's there? We weren't even invited to this party." A quiet cough caught my attention, my friend watching me in confusion.

"If Peter is there, then he should be damn pleased to see you… and I'm sorry, I'm pretty sure we're invited to whatever party we feel like going to… what was your name again?" I rolled my eyes, knowing exactly the game Maddie was playing right now. I decided to play along, admitting to myself that maybe I needed the confidence boost right now.

"Elizabeth Stark." I responded, apparently not loud enough for my friend as she shook her head.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch that… what the hell is your name?"

"Elizabeth-fucking-Stark." I announced proudly, following my words with a loud laugh. That was all I needed to realise that I was ready for this. I needed a good night out, and that's exactly what I was going to have, in spite of Liz Allen and Peter Parker and the fact they were both ruining my life. After all… I'm Elizabeth fucking Stark.

We pulled up outside the house, the party looking as thought it was already in full swing at this point. I pressed on the brakes, slowing to a stop alongside the curb as I glanced out of my window.

"This actually looks like a good party…" I mused aloud, Madelyn leaning forward in her seat as she looked in the same direction, our view of the house distracted by a partygoer throwing up in the hedge. Her slight look of distain was quickly masked with a tight smile.

"It's about to get a lot better." She shot me a wink, grabbing her bag off the floor and sliding out of the passenger door. I quickly followed suit, feeling just as confident as we both looked right now. We'd opted for slightly more casual outfits tonight, Madelyn sporting a black and white fitted striped dress and a dark cropped denim jacket with black converses. I'd gone for my favourite pair of blue high waisted mom jeans, paired with a cropped grey t-shirt, white lace up sneakers and my favourite jacket, a dark well worn leather one that had once belonged to Tony. All in all, we felt great, and it showed.

A random partygoer stumbled backwards into our path, his drink sloshing out of his cup as he offered a chuckled apology before turning to face us. A sudden moment of realisation flashed over his face as my identity dawned on him.

"Woah, you're Elizabeth Stark!" He gawked, desperately trying to retain his cool composure despite his clear excitement.

"And what am I, trash?" Madelyn muttered to herself, a comment I promptly ignored as I approached the boy, swaying my hips a little more than necessary with a smile. Well, I could have a bit of fun couldn't I?

"In the flesh. You know me, but who might you be?"

"Adam," He swallowed thickly as I smirked at him, struggling to maintain his calm as I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Why don't you take a picture so you can drool over it during your private bedroom time." I rolled my eyes at Maddie's comment, glancing over her shoulder to see her arms folded over her chest in a way that told me to hurry things along.

"Great idea!" Adam clearly missed the glaringly obvious suggestive undertones to Maddie's comment as he began fumbling through his pockets to find his phone, throwing his arm over my shoulder and pulling me towards him once he had the camera ready. I shot Maddie mixture of a glare and a disdainful grimace for getting me into this situation before my mask was back up, smiling sweetly into the camera as he captured the moment forever. This would be fun to see all over Twitter tomorrow morning. I quickly excused myself after that, eager to get into the party and get a few drinks in me. Non-alcoholic… maybe. Maddie had been quick to congratulate me on finding my first possible suitor for the evening, and I had been equally quick to tell her where to stick her sarcastic comments.

The music hit us as I swung the front door open, taking my first few steps into the party. A smile spread across my lips as the music washed over me, the familiar scent of cheap beer and even cheaper cologne setting the scene for the perfect teenage house party. Madelyn had already made a beeline for the drinks table, enthusiastically filling my cup with something that was most likely dangerously alcoholic. I started to follow, eager to have a taste of whatever poison she was pouring me, but I was halted as I bumped ungracefully, and face first, into a very pretty blue floral blouse.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" The stranger turned to face me, resting an apologetic hand on my arm and offering a kind smile.

"It's fine, my fault." I shrugged tucking my phone, that I had very nearly dropped, into my pocket before finally glancing up.

"Oh my goodness, Elizabeth, hi!" Liz Allan's eyes had widened slightly, a grin stretching on her lips.

"Elizabeth Stark is at my party… That's really cool." I laughed with a nod, not sure how to respond to that. It wasn't that I didn't like Liz. From working with her in the lab and teaching the dance classes which she had been oddly committed to despite her difficulties, I'd actually grown to like her quite a lot. She was a nice girl, she was clever, great to work with and she wouldn't hurt a fly. But there was something inside me that just wouldn't let go of the fact that Peter cared about her, and it would always leave me with just a hint of a grudge against her, a grudge that had begun rearing its ugly head much more regularly ever since we'd kissed. That paired with the fact we'd come here tonight to distract me from this nonsense immediately put me in a bad mood.

"You know what I realised the other day? We're both Elizabeth, but I'm Liz and you're Els... how cool is that." She laughed, despite the fact it wasn't very funny, but I humoured her, laughing along.

"Super duper cool Liz." I wasn't sure if the sarcasm dripping from my tone was obvious, but if it was, she didn't comment on it.

"So uh… why are you at my party? Not that you're not welcome of course! I just completely forgot to mention it, I was going to ask you in the lab the other day but then I got so distracted chatting to Peter and it slipped my mind." Sure it did. At this point Maddie had re-joined us, slipping a red plastic cup into my hand and very un-subtly giving Liz the once over. While Maddie had been perfectly civil, maybe even polite to Liz up until now, I suddenly saw her as a threat, which meant my best friend also had to see her as a threat.

"Yeah, Peter mentioned it to us," She cut in, taking a small sip of her drink and batting her lashes slightly, "You know Peter and Els, thick as thieves… Bonnie and Clyde but without the robberies. Madelyn, by the way, in case you forgot." I bit back a smirk at her comment, proud of the fact that she was always on my side despite her obvious annoyance of my pathetic crush on Peter.

"Of course I remember you Maddie," She giggled in that adorable way that had suddenly started to make my skin crawl, placing a friendly hand on Maddie's shoulder before quickly removing it at the narrowed stare she got in response. "…and right, of course, you and Peter are like, really great friends right? I suppose you have to be, between the work in the lab and the Stark internship you must see a lot of each other. It's so cool that your brother offered him such a great opportunity." Ah yes, the Stark Internship, AKA, superhero school. It was much more amusing to hear about now that I was in on the secret. I groaned internally at her ability to make it impossible to hate her.

"Yeah, they hang pretty much every day at the moment, it's kinda annoying actually…" I shot Maddie a look that told her it was time to stop, turning back to Liz with a kind smile.

"He deserves it for sure… he's extremely talented, Tony can see that." She agreed with a nod before a crash sounded from the other room.

"Crap, if anything gets broken my parents will kill me, I better go check on that." She glanced around anxiously, searching for the source of the sound.

"Of course, go ahead."

"Enjoy the party though! I'll see you later." With that she disappeared into the crowd, leaving Madelyn and I alone once again.

"She's perfect and I hate her." I grumbled, watching Maddie take another sip of her drink as she glared at Liz's back. I left my comments at that, choosing simply to lift my cup to my lips and empty it of every last drop of liquid it held, wincing as the mystery drink burned my throat on its way down.

"That's my girl." I received a pat on the back before my cup was removed from my hand and I was dragged over to the drinks table for a much needed re-fill.

Maddie and I had set up camp in the sitting room, somehow ending up roped into a game of truths. I'm not sure what had happened to the dare aspect of the game, but this just seemed to be a group of people spilling their secrets whilst they were too inebriated to realise it was a bad idea. But I wasn't one to be a spoilsport, and I had to admit, I was quite enjoying learning all of Midtown High's dirty little secrets. Eventually it was my turn, and the attention of the room was locked on me as a boy I'd grown all too familiar with formulated his question.

"Okay Stark… What's it like being Tony Stark's sister? Always living in his shadow?" A chorus of oooh's sounded from the room around us, Flash's question clearly asking for some sort of outburst in response. Fortunately, while I may have had a few drinks and was certainly not sober, I'd spent my whole life facing difficult questions in much more exposed situations. I was raised for this kind of thing.

"I wouldn't know, I don't live in other people's shadows, people live in mine." I took a sip of my drink with a polite smile, watching Flash's self satisfied expression drop from over the rim of my cup. "What's it like being an asshole?" My comment caused an eruption of laughter throughout the room, Flash flipping me the finger before sinking back into his seat in silent, yet amused, defeat. As much as I thought he was an idiot, I had to admit that I enjoyed the way Flash wasn't afraid to challenge me. A lot of people were far too careful about what they did or said around me, but not him, he was happy to take whatever cheap shot he could think up, and it was actually kinda fun. I smirked, allowing the game to continue as a girl announced that it was Maddie's turn.

"Madelyn, is it true that you punched that guy at a charity gala last year." I spluttered, choking on my drink as I recalled the event. It was very much true, and it had been hilarious.

"Pretty sure the video of that fiasco was still trending on Twitter four months later…" She replied with a roll of her eyes, flipping her hair over her shoulder before finishing her cup. I reached over, slipping it from her hand before climbing over the back of the sofa to get us both re-fills.

I returned to find that Liz had joined the game, taking the seat beside the empty space I had left behind. Perfect. I leaned over the back of the chair, handing Mads her drink before clambering back over into my seat.

"Oh hey, do you need a hand." Liz asked with a smile, taking my hand and helping me back into my seat. Why on gods green earth did this girl have to be so perfect.

"Thanks," I replied sweetly as I settled into my seat again.

The music continued to fill the room, along with the laughter and voices from the game that was continuing amongst the guests. People had continually filtered in and out of the house for the duration of the party, and I hadn't taken much notice of it. That was until now. My vision may have been slightly blurry and the room may have been spinning like I'd just hopped off a rollercoaster, but my eyes weren't mistaken in thinking that Peter and Ned had just walked through the door. Unfortunately, Maddie had noticed this fact just moments before I did, giving her the chance she needed.

"Peter! Ned! Hey!" She waved enthusiastically towards the pair who had now frozen, slightly resembling deer in the headlights.

"Oh my gosh, hey guys!" Liz piped up from beside me, offering the boys a slightly more subdued wave than Maddie's, "Cool hat Ned."

"That is a cool had Ned, you look great." I sent them a thumbs up, taking a sip of my drink before sparing a lingering glance at Peter.

"Hi Liz. Maddie, Els." Ned greeted us in his usual chipper manner as they made their way over to the sofa we were inhabiting. Peter, on the other hand, just looked nervous.

"Maddie… Elizabeth, I didn't realise you guys were gonna be here?" He replied, pausing before saying my name, clearly slightly stunned to see us here. Neither of us got a chance to respond before Flash had gotten a hold of the mic once again.

"Peter Parker, what is up?!" His voiced called out over the speakers, followed by a series of electronic airhorn sounds. "Yo where's your pal Spider-man? Let me guess, in Canada with your imaginary girlfriend? That's not Spider-man, that's just Ned in a red shirt…"

I narrowed my eyes at the boy, noting the way Peter's jaw tensed slightly, his hands balling into fists at his side. I pushed myself out of my seat, tripping on the coffee table in my tipsy state as I made my way over to the mixing deck. My drunken mind would not let anyone speak ill of my best friend and the unexpected love of my life. I snatched the mic from Flash's hand, shoving him out of the way before offering the room a wide smile.

"Hi everyone, I'm Elizabeth Stark which you probably already know because… well, I'm me." I flipped my hair over my shoulder, winking towards Maddie who was carrying out her own, very enthusiastic, round of applause for me right now. "So, I would really just like to settle this once and for all so you can go back to gossiping about who made out with who behind the bleachers or whatever you do at high school…" I held the room's attention, including that of Peter and Ned, who were watching me wide eyed. Did they really think I was going to reveal his secret? I wasn't that drunk.

"Peter does know Spider-man, they've met on more than one occasion. And you know what else, me and Spider-man are super tight, and he told me just the other day that he thinks Peter is a great guy, and Flash…" I directed my attention to the boy who was now watching me in stunned silence. "…you're an asshole."

With that, I literally dropped the mic, a personal life goal of mine, bowing dramatically as the room burst into laughter and applause. Personally, I think I styled out the way I tripped down the step from the mixing deck fairly well, reclaiming my drink from where I'd left it on the table and accepting an unexpected yet welcome high-five from Liz as I made my way towards Peter and Ned.

"You're welcome." I offered the boys a sweet smile, patting Peter on the shoulder before breezing past him and into the kitchen. I leaned against the counter as I messily attempted to re-fill my cup, spilling most of the contents in the process. After a double take I noticed that Michelle was stood beside me, observing my drunken attempts as she nonchalantly chewed on her snack.

"Toast?" She offered, holding a slice of peanut butter covered toast in my direction.

"Thanks MJ… get it? Because Michelle Jones, M… J…" I shot her a wide smile as she nodded with an amused grin, accepting the toast gratefully and taking a bite just as a rough hand on my shoulder spun me on my heel.

"Hey Els what the hell are you doing?" I was met with Peter's steely expression, his eyes flitting between my face, the drink in my left hand and the toast in my right.

"Hey Pete it's so nice to see you, you know I love seeing you." I grinned, shoving my toast in my mouth and using the free, slightly buttery, to pat him on the cheek. He quickly swatted my hand away and I frowned, taking a large bite of my toast before washing it down with my drink.

"Stop that." He snapped, snatching the still half full plastic cup from my hand and throwing it into the sink, sending droplets of the sweet liquid splashing over the counter.

"Wow, sorry dad… you're cleaning that up." I batted his hand away from me as he attempted to confiscate my toast as well.

"Don't touch my toast." I frowned, using the slice of bread to swat him away.

"Els your brother is going to kill me if he finds out you were here getting drunk and I didn't try to stop you, and get you home safe."

"Well I won't tell him if you won't." I smirked, reaching up to run my fingers through his hair as he squirmed away from my touch.

"Stop that."

"Stop what, don't you like me touching you Peter? You weren't so mad about it the other day when you were kissing me…" I giggled, winking at him suggestively, and pouting my lips in a kissing motion, enjoying the way his cheeks flushed pink before I realised that mine had begun to do exactly the same. His eyes widened, and he shot a panicked glance around him before narrowing his eyes at Michelle who was still standing close behind me, and who simply held her hands up with a devious smile before turning and leaving us.

"Will you just-" he moved towards me, his arm wrapping around my shoulder and directing us to a quieter part of the kitchen where there were less people around to hear our conversation. "-keep it down."

My smile instantly dropped. Yes, I knew I was probably about to overreact because I was drunk, but the way my heart had immediately dropped at his efforts to keep me quiet was fuelling my slowly building anger. Why didn't he want people to hear? What was the big secret?

"Why do I need to keep it down?" He faltered, stumbling over a response as I leaned back against the kitchen counter with folded arms.

"I just- you know- there are a lot of people here an-"

"Save it, I get it." I held up a hand to halt his rambling, shaking my head with a frown.

It stung, I couldn't lie. A part of me had been convinced that what happened between us the other day was a turning point in our relationship, but by the looks of things I was wrong. I didn't care who knew, at this point it didn't make sense for me to hide it any longer. I was stupidly infatuated with Peter and kissing him was probably one of the most wonderful moments of my teenage life. But maybe I'd been naive, he was a boy with hormones and urges and we'd had a fairly stressful evening courtesy of my high rise swan dive, so it made sense for him to also make his own ill thought out decision that night. Which apparently, seemed to be kissing me.

"It's not like that El-bell I swear, I'm not trying to hide anything I just think maybe we don't need to go shouting about the fact we kissed in front of an entire house of people…" But that's exactly what I wanted to do.

"It's fine, if you're embarrassed, or ashamed…" I cut him off with a wave of my hand before he could protest. "Just don't lie to me." If he had planned to respond to that, I would never know, as I turned on my heel and made to leave with a weak shrug.

"Leave me alone Peter, I'm fine." I muttered over my shoulder.

"No, you're not." I paused and glanced back, furrowing my brow curiously as he dug through his pockets, eventually pulling out his phone and tapping away at the screen.

"What are you doing?" I questioned with a frown as he lifted the phone to his ear.

"Who are you calling?" I demanded to know, hurrying back over and attempting to snatch the phone from his hand. Fortunately for him, his spider reflexes won this round.

"Hey Happy, yeah I need your help." My jaw clenched as he greeted the caller, my arms folding over my chest as I glared up at him.

"You didn't."

"Oh, but I did." He shrugged innocently. Maddie had joined us at this point, her gaze flicking between the two of us in confusion as we stared each other down.

"What the hell is going on?" She questioned, placing her cup on the side as Peter took a cautious step back.

 _"_ _Is that Maddie?"_ A quiet voice spoke down the phone.

"Peter Parker that better not be who I think it is." Maddie growled, taking a threatening step towards him before she was quickly interrupted as her father's voice could be heard once more.

 _"_ _It is exactly who you think it is. Peter put me on speaker."_ Peter obliged, probably too scared of the consequences if he didn't do what he was told. _"Madelyn Hogan, I want you and Elizabeth to stay right where you are. I'm coming to get you. Peter, text me the address."_

With that, he hung up, leaving a tense silence to hang in the air between us. I took a slow step towards Peter, my eyes locked on his the entire time.

"You need to be literally anywhere but here right now." I spoke calmly, yet with enough threat to cause him to take a step back.

"I'm sorry Els-" He began, quickly thinking better of trying to apologise right now, opting instead to hold his hands up in defeat and remain silent.

"There will be no superpowers that will save you if you utter so much as another word to me." Thankfully, Ned slipped between us just at the right time, shooting me a sympathetic look that told me he had overheard the entire conversation, and by the way Maddie was currently watching me with a raised brow, she had too. They disappeared pretty sharpish after that, leaving Maddie and I alone to attempt to sober up before Happy got here. I winced as she claimed a spot leaning against the counter beside me, bumping my shoulder with hers and shooting me an unimpressed look.

"I think you have some explaining to do missy."

I'd managed to avoid conversation for the majority of the car ride home, my company too distracted arguing amongst themselves as I sunk into the back seat. I hadn't paid much attention to their conversation, but I had managed to catch the fact that Maddie was grounded for what appeared to be an indefinite amount of time. Not that I cared, I was too busy overthinking, my favourite pass-time.

Peter and I had shared a moment only a few days ago which had left me reeling, feeling like I was both floating and sinking at the same time. I'd finally got what I'd been craving since pretty much the day we met and now… he wanted to keep it a secret? I had to admit that I didn't really understand his reasoning, but I also had to admit that right now I was far too angry to try and work that out.

"Elizabeth Stark will you listen to me!" I raised my head slowly, blinking away tears that had started to gather in my eyes and watching Maddie silently.

"Tell me what happened between you and Peter. I need to know right now." Happy was watching me in the rearview mirror, brow furrowed as he glanced between me and his daughter curiously. I shrugged, dropping my gaze back to my fingers, a few of which had begun to bleed around my nails from where I had been picking at the skin.

"It doesn't matter what happened." My voice was quiet, and I hoped she hadn't heard the way it wavered as I spoke.

"Oh but I think it really does." She snapped back before glancing back at me over her shoulder and falling silent. "El are you crying."

Was I? I raised my hand to my cheek which was damp with murky mascara soaked tears. I hadn't even realised that I was crying, but as I blinked, more and more tears fell and Maddie's irritation quickly morphed into horrified sadness.

"Oh my god, hang on." She ignored Happy's protests as she unclipped her seatbelt, ungracefully climbing from the front passenger seat to the back and pulling me into her arms. I sniffed, wiping away my tears as she held me tight against her chest, muttering whispered reassurances until I'd finally calmed down and the tears had stopped.

"You wanna tell me what happened?" I sucked in a deep breath, straightening in my seat and brushing my hair out of my face, releasing the breath in a long sigh.

"Peter kissed me, a few days ago… the day I found out he was Spider-man." I ignored the way Happy did a double take in the rearview mirror, eyes wide with shock.

"Wait, you know he's Spider-man?!" I offered a weak shrug as Maddie waved off his comment with a roll of her eyes.

"That is old news daddy, this is way more important, be quiet." She turned back to me, brushing her hand over my hair with a soft smile. "Okay so why are you so sad? You've been in love with him for months…"

"Knew it." Another stern glare was sent Happy's way and he sunk back slightly into his chair, his smirk dropping immediately.

"Because tonight I commented on it and he told me to be quiet… like he didn't want anyone else to find out what had happened. Because obviously he's embarrassed that he ever did it and he regrets it ever happened." Hands dropped roughly onto my shoulders, turning me to the side to face a stony faced Madelyn.

"That boy should be shouting from the rooftops that he kissed Elizabeth Stark because lord knows he is never gonna get better than that. If he's embarrassed or regrets it, then screw. him." I swallowed thickly, nodding with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.

I sank back into my chair once she had released me, running my fingers through my hair. Whether it was the alcohol wearing off, or my heightened emotions catching up to me, I was suddenly exhausted and by the time we pulled up at Maddie's, I was ready to go to bed.

"Why can't I come with you?" She leaned back through the passenger window, her eyes pleading with her father who remained set in his decision.

"Because you are grounded, and I am going to drive Els back upstate then we are going to have a long discussion when I get home. See, now you got plenty of time to think up excuses… you're welcome." She stepped back, folding her arms over her chest as her mouth dropped open in shock. I only offered her a weak smile as the window rolled up, leaving Happy and I alone as he pulled away.

At some point during the drive, I had drifted off, which I'm sure Happy was grateful for so that he was spared of any more superhero or boy talk, both of which I'm certain he was not keen to engage in. I realised, once I was woken by my phone buzzing and a _"Start working on your explanation"_ text from Tony, that Happy must have called him to explain what was going on while I was sleeping.

"Traitor." I grumbled, flashing the screen in his direction before stuffing it a little too forcefully back in my pocket. The silence between us was loaded, and both of us knew it, but I was far too exhausted to even try to make conversation right now. Unfortunately, Happy wasn't.

"So… you know Peter's Spider-man huh?" I nodded, lips pursed together in the hopes that my silence would make him stop. But no.

"And you're not mad at him for not telling you." I rubbed at my eyes, knowing full well that I'd just scrubbed my mascara off my lashes and into the surrounding skin but opting not to care.

"Look I don't care if he's Spider-man, right now he's Peter-stupid-Parker and he's an asshole." His slow nod and shrug confirmed his agreement.

"Yeah well, he's a teenage boy, they're all assholes." He wasn't wrong.

"I don't really want to talk about it, Happy. Can we just leave it?" His eyes flicked over towards me with a sympathetic look before they were locked back on the road.

"Can I just ask how you found out?" My head drooped to the side, a flicker of a smile on my lips gone as quickly as it arrived.

"You need to learn to delete your emails…" He swerved slightly as he whipped his head to look at me, fighting to compose himself with a spluttered cough. "And maybe don't write all your passwords in a notebook yeah?"

The rest of the drive was silent, Happy probably silently kicking himself for being the one careless enough to reveal Peter's secret and me fighting with my own inner demons over this entire situation. There was only one thing I needed right now and it was sleep. I hopped out of the car once we arrived and gave Happy a week wave of goodbye, realising the moment I stepped through the door that going straight to bed wouldn't be a possibility.

"Oh hey, the delinquent returns." I rolled my eyes as I made to head straight past my brother and to my room, only to have my escape prevented as he stepped into my path.

"Wow, you look like crap." Normally, his comments wouldn't bother me, and him saying I looked like crap would have received a sarcastic thanks and and eye roll. But not tonight. Tonight I didn't just look like crap, I felt like crap, and that wasn't only the fault of the alcohol.

"Tony can we please do this in the morning," Despite my efforts to hold myself together, my voice was visibly higher in pitch, and had started shaking around three words into my sentence, which hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I stumbled as he pulled me forward, burying my face into his t-shirt to muffle the sobs that had begun to shake my chest. I shook my head, sucking in a shaky breath as he stepped back to hold me at arms length.

This wasn't me, I wasn't the girl who sobbed into her brother's t-shirt because of a boy. So I clenched my jaw, swiped away my tears and swallowed my sobs, pulling myself together enough to look Tony in the eye with a determined gaze.

"Peter Parker is an asshole. I'm going to bed." He didn't attempt to stop me this time as I brushed past him, making a beeline for my bedroom and slamming the door behind me. All I wanted right now was to sink into my bedsheets and pretend the night hadn't been the absolute disaster that it had, and as I closed my eyes and drifted off into sleep, I allowed the bad memories to drift just as easily.

 **A/N: hi all, i've mentioned it before but i'd like to add a little reminder that the timelines in this story do not match up with the MCU timelines or the comic timelines. I'm aware that the age gap between Tony and Elizabeth as siblings is large but to get the relationship i want between them i dont think it would work as well if they were father/daughter, however, if you would like to view them as father/daughter feel free, they identify as siblings but as Tony practically raised her she would certainly consider him a 'father figure'. I chose siblings as i feel the father/daughter trope is very overdone, and i feel as though having a daughter would drastically change the tony/peter relationship, which is sort of a fatherhood trial run. Reminder, Elizabeth is adopted and therefore the age gap is less prevalent as they are not biological siblings.**

 **Rant over! please review and let me know what you think of this chapter:)**


	18. Chapter 18

I opened my eyes slowly, the late morning light unwelcome to my tired eyes. My head was still feeling a bit bleary from last night's antics, most of which I didn't entirely remember, apart from the obvious, of course. Thankfully, the building seemed quiet this morning. Tony must be out.

My head was vibrating. Why was my head vibrating? It took me longer than I'd ever admit to realise that it wasn't, in fact, my head, but my phone tucked under my pillow, that was rudely interrupting my hungover self-pity. Admittedly, the dramatic way in which I flung the pillow across the room to uncover my phone was unnecessary, but theatrics had always been my forte. Got that one from my brother.

I swiped to unlock the screen, the phone slipping from my hands and bouncing off my face a couple of times before I managed to get to my messages. I was greeted by several texts, from a variety of different people. The first of which was from Tony. Here we go.

 _I've got business to deal with this morning. Dinner tonight, 7 pm. Do not be late. x_

Between begging for forgiveness for my drunken antics and explaining why I had announced through tears that Peter was an asshole, that was sure to be a fun dinner. I typed out a quick reply, stressing the fact that I would be on time if not early, and that I loved him lots. It was going to take a lot of ass-kissing to get away lightly this time. Lucky for me, I'd had a lot of practice with these kinds of situations over the years, so I wasn't worried. I quickly moved on to the next string of messages, which were thankfully less angry, leaning more towards incredibly apologetic.

 _I'm going to start by saying I have never been more sorry for anything in my life_

 _Please don't hate me even though I'm a horrible person_

 _I know you probably do_

 _I'm sorry for upsetting you and getting you in trouble_

 _Please please forgive me..._

I rolled my eyes, breathing out a laugh as the ghost of a smirk played on my lips. I quickly pursed my lips together to suppress the smile. No, it didn't matter that Peter was honestly the purest soul on this earth, he had managed to upset me and make me feel like an idiot in one fell swoop. I was only mildly pissed at him for calling Happy last night, but as for the other part...

 _I told you to leave me alone._

I watched the screen as my message sent, the little blue tick letting me know it had been delivered. It was only a few seconds later that the text bubble popped up, alerting me that he was writing his reply.

 _El-bell, I am begging you to let me explain, I am so so sorry. I know I'm an idiot and I don't deserve forgiveness but please just hear me out._

Goddammit, I was weak. I already felt my resolve crumbling as I considered whether it would be weak of me to just hear him out. It didn't mean I was going to forgive him, I was just going to let him explain. Peter damn Parker why did I have to be in love with you? I groaned, turning my attention to the ceiling as I considered how to reply. I know I was supposed to be mad at him, yet there would always be that part of my brain that immediately told me to forget about it. Did it make me weak? Probably. Was I going to forgive him anyway? Absolutely.

 _What time is your free period?_

His response came almost immediately after I'd clicked send. Knowing him, he'd been staring at his phone poised to respond at a moments notice.

 _12:30 why?_

I may be willing to listen, but even that wouldn't come without a price. If I was going to milk his guilt for upsetting me and getting me in trouble, might as well get some free food out of it...

 _Buy me lunch and I'll let you explain._

 _Deal._

Well, that was easy. I dropped my phone onto the sheets beside me, sighing to myself. Who was I? Who was this pathetic emotionally compromised girl I'd become? I quickly reclaimed my phone, opening up the messages once more.

 _I'll pick you up out the front of the school. P.s. I still hate you_

There you go, that was blunt and slightly rude enough for me to regain some modicum of my 'void of emotion' attitude to life and boys.

 _No, you don't ;) x_

Oh, look. And there it goes again.

It took me longer than was necessary to drag myself from my bed, spending an extra five minutes in the shower just sitting and letting the warm water wash over me. I offered my cosmetics bag a fleeting glance before deciding that makeup would not be happening today, no matter how much of a mess I looked. I did, however, run a brush through my hair and smooth a bit of tinted moisturiser over my face just to tidy myself up a little. I threw together an outfit equally as quickly, the sun just beginning to creep through the clouds and bring a bit of warmth to the day. I went with my favourite pair of distressed grey jeans, paired with a white oversized jumper. I liked to call this look cosy couture, and I'd be damned if anyone told me I couldn't go out looking like I was wearing a blanket. I slipped my feet into chunky black boots and grabbed my handbag, slinging it over my shoulder before heading for the door.

"Friday, if Tony gets home and asks where I am, tell him to mind his damn business," I called out to the AI, a smirk on my face as I peered into the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water before I left.

"Of course Miss Stark." Despite the fact she was essentially a string of code, I could have sworn I could hear the amusement in her voice.

I slipped out the front door, closing my eyes and breathing in the warm air, letting the sunshine wash over my face. Now to start the trip back to Liz's house to reclaim my car. I did spend a moment entertaining the idea of taking the subway, or maybe a bus, though that idea was quickly discarded as I realised how far from the city I was, pulling out my phone and opening up the Uber app instead. My car arrived quickly, ready to take me to my destination. Once I'd settled in the back, I opened up my phone, scrolling through my contacts before I found the name I was looking for. I lifted the phone to my ear, settling in for what was likely to be an amusing conversation. It didn't take long for the ringing to stop and for my friend to pick up.

 _"_ _If you don't see me for the next few weeks, it's because my dad has killed me. R.I.P me."_ I couldn't help but laugh at her dramatic opening line to our conversation, her voice slightly croaky from the night before.

"Other than a brief and emotional few minutes when I got home, I'm yet to face Tony properly... Dinner tonight at 7 though, that should be fun."

 _"_ _Wow, good luck with that... he wasn't home to torture you this morning then? Lucky... my dad was."_

"No he had business, so I thought I'd slip out before he gets back, avoid the inevitable for a little longer. Plus, I have to go pick up the car."

 _"_ _Oh my god, I totally forgot about the car! At least it's a nice neighbourhood. Good luck sneaking back in later though."_ I paused, chewing at my lip as I considered whether to tell her my morning plans or not. She would find out sooner or later anyway.

"I'm not planning on sneaking back in any time soon..."

 _"_ _Why? Where are you going?"_ I hesitated, wincing slightly as I anticipated her response to my next sentence.

"Umm... meeting Peter for lunch." She didn't skip a beat, her response coming immediately.

 _"_ _You're weak and I hate you."_

"I know, I hate me too. But I'm not forgiving him, I'm just giving him a chance to explain."

 _"_ _Yeah well let him know that he also has to explain to me, and making my best friend feel like crap requires a pretty fucking spectacular explanation."_ She was right, it did require a pretty fucking spectacular explanation, and I was hoping he'd have one of those ready for me when I picked him up.

"I'll tell him you say hi then, shall I?"

 _"_ _Or perhaps not."_

"Listen, I gotta go. Love you, try not to die of your hangover, or of your dad's imminent 'I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed' lecture."

 _"_ _Ugh don't remind me. Give Peter hell. Love you too, you pathetic child."_

With that kind parting of words, I hung up, slipping my phone back in my pocket as we pulled up to our destination. I quickly thanked my driver and hopped out of the door, pleased to see that the Dodge was still sitting happily where I'd left it last night, not a scratch on it. At least that was one less thing for Tony to be mad at me about.

The drive back to Midtown high took less time than usual, mostly due to the lack of traffic on the roads on a Friday lunchtime. Unfortunately, this meant I'd arrived a bit early, pulling up outside the school just after 12. I hadn't heard anything more from Tony or Peter, the only text on my phone being a detailed word-for-word run down of the lecture Mads had received from Happy. I grinned as I read her dramatic re-telling, especially enjoying the fact her punishment was having her credit card confiscated for a week. That wouldn't last long though, she was a master at finding her confiscated items, and her most treasured credit card wouldn't be an exception. She'd be out shopping in no time.

A tap on my window startled me, my phone slipping from my hands in my surprise. I turned to the window, met with the smiling face of a boy around my age. Fortunately, I wasn't drunk when I had met him, and so was able to remember his name. I rolled down the window, plastering my best fake smile on my face to greet him.

"Hey… Adam, right?" I prayed I'd got his name right, waiting with bated breath for his response.

"Yeah, hey Elizabeth." Thank god, that could have been embarrassing. "How are you feeling today? You were pretty trashed last night." I forced out a laugh, the noise sounding a lot faker than I had anticipated.

"Yeah, don't remind me... I'm good though." I was eager to finish this interaction, leaving my responses short and blunt, hoping to discourage further conversation. Unfortunately, he had other ideas.

"So... what are you doing here?" He rested his arms on the window frame, leaning a little too far into the car for my liking.

"I'm just picking up a friend." _My god, please go away, how blunt do I have to be for him to realise I'm done with this conversation._

"Oh? What friend?" _None of your damn business Adam..._

"Uh, Peter." I glanced past him, noticing a few students leaving the building. I glanced at my watch seeing that it was just past 12:30. _Come on Peter where are you?_

"Peter Parker?"

"Yep, that's the one," I replied with disinterest. When would this be over?

"So, you're like… actually friends with him then..." I was suddenly interested in the conversation, not keen on the way he had phrased that sentence.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I narrowed my eyes, a hint of venom in my tone.

"Well you know... you're _the_ Elizabeth Stark, and Peter's a bit of a loser." I tensed my jaw, grinding my teeth together as I struggled to hold my tongue.

"Maybe I just attract losers," I replied simply, my face near expressionless as I kept our gazes locked. His confidence wavered as he realised that my words were very clearly a straightforward insult towards him. It didn't matter that I was mad at Peter right now, you could be damn well sure that I would defend him to my dying breath if I had to. Thankfully, I was saved from doing anything stupid as I spotted Peter exiting the building. He noticed me immediately, changing his direction and heading towards my car.

"Oh look, here he is, gotta go. Bye Adam." I spoke quickly, not giving him a chance to respond before I started rolling up the window, offering a little wave as the glass barrier was placed between us once again. I chuckled as he turned and walked away, looking a little put out as he shot Peter a glare.

I busied myself fiddling with the radio, connecting my phone and browsing through Spotify for a good playlist while I waited for Peter to get in. He slipped into the passenger seat just as I settled on my 70's/80's playlist, my best one if I did say so myself. I didn't turn to face him as he put his seatbelt on, keeping my eyes on my phone for a little longer for added effect.

"I take it I'm not forgiven...?" He asked quietly, raising a concerned brow in my direction as I concentrated on sliding my phone into its dock, something Tony had added as an important feature of the car. I kept my gaze forward as I turned the key in the ignition, bringing the car to life as the music began playing. I finally glanced over at him, lips set in a straight line as his eyes pleaded with me to accept his apology.

"You haven't bought me lunch yet." I attempted to joke, but the way he deflated slightly at my monotone voice told me he hadn't found it funny. I sucked in a breath, puffing it out through my lips before I turned back to the road and put my foot on the accelerator, pulling away from the curb and towards our next destination.

"You gonna start explaining then?" He'd been silent the entire journey here, and he had retained that silence for at least the last ten minutes, so I decided it was time to press. I was just as eager to get this over with as he was, I was sure of it. I watched him as he pulled his lower lip between his teeth, eyes focused on his pizza as though it were some kind of fascinating discovery.

"Do you want me to help you out?" His gaze shot up to meet me, lips falling apart as he went to speak but was cut off by me continuing. "Do you regret kissing me?"

His eyes widened and he reached across the table, shoving his pizza aside and grasping my hands in his with a furious shake of his head.

"Absolutely not. No way. I have never been happier and more certain of a decision in my life." I rolled my eyes, slipping my hands out of his and leaning back in my chair with folded arms.

"Yet you're embarrassed for people to know? Sounds like bullshit to me, Pete." His forehead hit the table with a thud as he groaned, quickly righting himself and running his fingers through his hair with a despairing look. I quirked my head to the side, keeping my attention locked on him as I waited for any response that might explain why he acted the way he did. I was patient as he took a moment to compose himself, taking a steadying breath and meeting my eye.

"You… are so important to me. You're my best friend, and don't tell Ned I said that because he'd never forgive me. I don't have many actual friends, and as you can probably tell, I'm kind of a loser at my school. All of the people at that party, their opinions really don't mean a whole lot to me."

"Then why not just tell them the truth?" I didn't feel bad for cutting him off, even though I had clearly ruined his flow.

"Two reasons… first of all, I panicked. I don't know why I told you to be quiet, I don't know why I didn't want them to know I just freaked out because I'm an idiot and I'm not used to a beautiful girl actually wanting to kiss me and then tell people about it. Actually I'm not used to a beautiful girl wanting to kiss me at all…" I nodded slowly, softening slightly at his explanation.

"And the second reason?"

He sighed. "I wouldn't even know what to tell them. What do I say when they find out we kissed and ask what's going on between us? I don't even know what's going on between us!"

I had to admit at this stage, that he had a fairly valid point. I also didn't know what was going on between us, but then again I hadn't really thought about it. It didn't particularly feel like our kiss had changed anything, we were the same playful, sarcastic, accidentally flirty Peter and Elizabeth that we had always been.

"You make a good point… As far as I'm concerned, nothing's changed. Do we need to discuss 'us'?" I surrounded the word with air quotes to emphasise my point, "Do we need to pick this apart and stick a label on it?" He shrugged, thinking over my questions for a moment before responding.

"I suppose not. But… I'd also kinda like to know where we stand…" I looked up, pursing my lips in thought as I composed an answer I believed would sate him.

"Okay, how about we don't shout about this for now. Until we've worked out what 'this' is... just keep it between us-"

"And Ned." He cut in.

"And Maddie," I added before continuing, "Let's just carry on as we have been, and see what happens. Just normal Elizabeth and Peter… maybe with some kissing here and there." His lips tugged into a grin, elbows resting on the table and chin in his hands.

"So… you still want to kiss me?" His innocent expression was enough to break my resolve completely, and I knew that I had forgiven him by the point, whether I wanted to or not.

I rolled my eyes, shifting in my seat and refusing to meet his eye.

"Only every time I'm anywhere near you." While I hated to admit it, it was true. Even right now, when I was still a little bit mad at him I couldn't stop thinking about it.

"I'm gonna take that as reassurance that you don't hate me anymore?"

"You still got me into trouble with Tony, that I'm yet to face. So don't get cocky." I jabbed an accusatory finger in his direction, to which he held his hands up in surrender with a laughter laced apology.

"So, how's your head this morning?" He moved on, asking sheepishly and taking a bite of his pizza as I narrowed my eyes at him.

"My head is fine thank you..." I paused, my eyes scanning his face before lingering on something I'd immediately spotted when he got in the car. "How about yours?"

"I didn't even drink last night I don-" I leaned forward, brushing his hair back to reveal a large and painful-looking bruise.

"Who won?" I raised a brow as he swatted my hand away, sweeping his hair back into place over the bruise.

"Me, obviously." He scoffed, his attention trained on his pizza rather than on me.

"Yeah, looks like it." He frowned at my sarcastic response, dropping his pizza back onto the plate with a sigh, picking a piece of pepperoni off his pizza and flinging it at me.

"Ew stop it!" I laughed, flicking the food back across the table at him before falling quiet.

"Seriously though Pete, you've gotta be more careful."

"Aw Els, are you worried about me." He grinned, shooting me a wink to which I could only frown in response.

"Of course I am. You're going to get yourself mixed up in something bigger than you and you're going to get hurt."

"You know about me being Spider-man for like two days and you're already babying me. Now you know why I didn't tell you sooner… I'm capable of looking after myself Elizabeth." He grumbled with a roll of his eyes, dropping his food back onto the plate with a sigh.

"You're treading dangerous waters Peter, don't forget that you're still a kid. You can't take on the world on your own."

"You sound like your brother." I could tell he had taken a sharp turn into irritation, not enjoying this conversation at all, but if it meant the difference between him living and dying, I'd lecture him every hour of every day until the day I kicked it.

"Good, he's a smart guy who knows what he's talking about." He didn't reply to this, simply staring at the table as he prodded at his discarded food.

"Peter..." I nudged his leg with my foot under the table, urging him to look at me. "Please just be careful, okay?"

He nodded slowly, offering an apologetic smile before sliding his milkshake over to me.

"Peace offering?" I grabbed the glass, taking a sip of the thick chocolate shake before sliding it back over to him.

"So, speaking of your brother, what did he say about last night?" I frowned, releasing a nervous laugh as I swirled my straw in my drink.

"I didn't give him much of a chance to talk… I was kinda too busy crying and telling him that you were an asshole." He gawped at this but quickly backed down when I shot him a look that dared him to test me. "But I did receive a very blunt text this morning." I noticed Peter breathe a laugh, not even trying to be sympathetic to my situation. "We're having dinner tonight, I assume he's going to use that as his chance to tear into me."

"Good luck with that..." He laughed, leaning across the table and sliding his hand into mine. "I'll write a beautiful eulogy for your funeral."

I rested my free hand over my heart, feigning flattery as I leaned towards him.

"Never forget me, Peter, keep me in your heart."

"You'll be in my heart till the day I die, Elizabeth Maria Stark." I snorted out a laugh at the dramatics of our conversation, falling back into my chair as his hand left mine. I found myself watching him as he took a sip of his milkshake before glancing at his watch.

"Crap, I gotta get back to school." I mimicked his action, checking my own watch to find that almost an hour had passed, and as well as getting Peter back to school, I had to meet Rhodey for my tutoring session. I hopped up from my chair, slipping on my jacket and grabbing my bag.

I slowed to a stop, pulling up at the curb out the front of Midtown high, where the grounds had grown quiet now that all the students had returned to classes. I killed the engine, both of us sitting quietly as we waited for the other to speak. Peter spoke first.

"I'm sorry, again, for last night." I offered him a small smile, shaking my head with a shrug.

"It's fine, forget about it." He nodded in thanks, drumming his hands against his legs quietly.

"Thanks for what you said too... it was pretty cool seeing you knock Flash down a peg."

"It felt really good," I broke out into a laugh and Peter quickly followed suit, both enjoying the memory of the previous night. "You should try it sometime."

"Yeah, maybe I will." He grinned, falling quiet as he watched me. I couldn't fight the smile that tugged at my lips, thoroughly enjoying the awkwardness of the moment.

"Shouldn't you get going? Before you end up in detention for being late." I quirked my brow at him as he snapped out of his daze, scrambling to get his bag as he muttered a string of profanities. He swung the door open, moving to climb out but pausing as he turned back to face me, suddenly looking nervous as he closed the door behind him again.

I frowned. "What? You're gonna be lat-"

The space between us quickly disappeared as he leaned across the seats, his left hand tangling into my hair and pulling me towards him, our lips pressed together in the way I had been craving ever since the first time. I was still a little bit mad at him, but at that moment it didn't matter. It was a fairytale cliché that I would have previously scoffed at, but had now found to be true… when he kissed me everything else just disappeared. We broke apart with longing breaths, and I could tell that he was just as desperate as I was to carry on until we ran out of breath completely. But no such luck.

He shot me a grin before swinging the door open and climbing out quickly, tripping a couple of times in the process before he turned back to me.

"Text me later? I wanna know all the details of this dinner." Oh no, I'd forgotten about that.

"Will do," I sent him a quick salute as he swung the door shut and turned to leave.

"Hey!" He turned back to the open window with a quirk of his head. "Peter Parker you cannot just kiss me and everything is fixed." My reprimand didn't hold much weight thanks to the flush in my cheeks and the way I licked at my lips in an effort to savour the moment.

"You sure about that?" He grinned, winking as he hitched his backpack onto his shoulder.

"Thin ice Peter! Thin. Ice." I waved him away as he breathed a laugh, spinning on his heel and beginning his run back to class. I snorted out a laugh as he turned back halfway up the path to send me a wave, stumbling over his feet and almost falling face-first into the pavement. Idiot. Adorable idiot.

Somehow I'd managed to avoid Tony once again as I arrived back home, only 5 minutes late for my tutoring session. To say I couldn't be bothered with it today was the understatement of the year. I zoned out on more than one occasion during our lesson, only coming back to earth when Rhodey smacked me in the leg with his crutch.

"Sorry Rhodes, my brain just isn't cooperating today." _It's too busy imagining kissing Peter again._ I groaned, resting my head in my hands and letting my hair fall over my face.

"Yeah, I can see that... it wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the lecture Tony's got planned for you later would it?" I chuckled guiltily, tucking my hair back behind my ear and offering Rhodey my most innocent smile.

"It might be..."

"Or perhaps it's to do with your little crush on Peter Parker." He exaggerated the name, shooting me a knowing look as he wiggled an eyebrow suggestively. Apparently, I'd breathed in a little too vigorously as I choked, coughing to clear my throat as I struggled to retain my innocence.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about." I knew I didn't sound nearly as convincing as I wanted to.

"Sure kid... remember that I'm pretty old now, I've had a lot of life experience, and also I'm not an idiot. Plus, Pepper told me." I sighed, glancing up at him sheepishly through my lashes. "Just know that if he gets you in any trouble, I'll kick his ass."

"What are you gonna do? Whack him with your crutches...?" I nudged his arm playfully as he gawped in shock.

"You better watch your mouth or I'll practice on you." I barked out a laugh as he grabbed his crutch, waving it threateningly in my direction with his best attempt at a glare.

The rest of the lesson went pretty fast after that, a fact I was both glad and irritated by. While it meant I was one step closer to being free from work, it also meant I was one step closer to the dreaded dinner with Tony. Rhodey left just after we finished, walking much better with the aid of his crutches. He was recovering more and more every day which I couldn't be more thankful for. He was family, and seeing family hurt was something I wasn't good at coping with.

I decided to busy myself for the next few hours tidying my room. Anything to distract me from the oncoming storm that was my brother. It actually turned out to be an incredibly productive few hours, with me ending up changing my bedsheets, hoovering my room and giving my bathroom the deepest clean it'd had in its life. My productivity even spread outside of my bedroom to the kitchen, where I was currently rearranging the contents of the refrigerator. It was at this point Tony arrived home.

"Elizabeth? What are you doing?" I turned to see him watching me from the doorway, his brow knitted into a frown as he glanced between me and the fridge.

"I'm uh… rearranging the contents of the fridge…" I explained simply.

"I can see that… why?"

"Keeping busy." I shrugged, placing the juice back onto the shelf and swinging the door closed before pushing myself to my feet. I glanced at my watch, noting that it was 18:50. I definitely hadn't been late. I watched as he slid off his coat and threw his bag onto the counter, the nervous energy in me preventing me from standing still as I shuffled on my feet.

"So… Where are we going for dinner?" I asked quietly, twisting my fingers together in front of me as I shifted on the spot.

"We're not," I offered a confused frown at his response, sliding onto the bar stool in wait of an explanation.

"We're ordering in, I can't be bothered to go out." Well damn, there goes my idea of using a public space to minimise the yelling.

"Okay… I'll grab my laptop and we can order something," I started, rising from the chair and heading for the door, "What are you feeling?"

He considered my question for a moment, most likely going over the options in his head before he responded.

"Chinese?" I nodded in agreement at his suggestion before slipping out of the room to find my laptop.

Our food arrived quickly, and we ate mostly in silence. I could tell he was thinking, turning something over and over in his head. Probably thinking of the best punishment he could throw at me. Either way, the silence made me anxious, my nervous fidgeting and the way I was pushing my food around on the plate instead of eating it made that obvious. I couldn't stand this, why didn't he just get it over with and stop torturing me.

"Come on then, lay it on me…" I sighed, dropping my fork onto the table, so ready to get the reprimanding over and done.

"Lay what on you?" He looked up from his plate, his brow knotted in confusion.

"The telling off, the yelling at me and grounding me forever…" I shrugged, shaking my head at the way this conversation was going. He sighed, putting down his fork and pushing his plate aside to rest his elbows on the table. His fingers rubbed circles into his temples before moving up to run them through his hair as he took a breath.

"Actually, I'm kinda more interested in what Peter did to piss you off… before we get into the yelling and grounding you forever." Crap, I'd forgotten about my little outburst last night. Of course, he wasn't going to let that go. I winced as he watched me expectantly, clearly waiting for an explanation that I wasn't sure I wanted to give. Then again, if I didn't tell him, he'd probably just go to Peter for answers and terrify the poor boy even more than usual.

"Okay fine. Know that I'm only telling you this because I want to spare Peter your questioning. A few days ago he…" I paused, noting the way Tony was currently hanging on my every word as though it were gospel. "…kissed me."

I braced myself for Tony's surprise, or his anger because I knew that to him I was his baby sister, which meant the thought of any boy touching me usual sent him into a tailspin. However, this time I was surprised by his silence.

"Finally." I was taken aback by his response, expecting the complete opposite to what I had received.

"What do you mean finally?" I questioned, folding my arms over my chest with a frown.

"I mean, everyone's been waiting for you two to end up together for months. It's been torture." I gawped, swiping at his arm and receiving a middle finger in response.

"So wait, you're mad at him because he kissed you?" I shovelled a mouthful of noodles into my mouth with a shake of my head.

"No, I'm mad at him-" I caught myself, correcting, "was mad at him, because at Liz Allan's party he told me not to tell anyone."

"What, he's embarrassed for people to know he kissed _the_ Elizabeth Stark!" He laughed as I threw my hands into the air in exasperation, flinging a noodle across the table and onto his plate in the process.

"That's what I said!"

"So, I noticed you said 'was' mad. What excuse did he give to make you forgive him?" Honestly, now that I thought about it, 'I panicked' wasn't a particularly good excuse. But I had accepted it nonetheless.

I shrugged. "He panicked."

"Ah, I can see why you forgave him." He turned his attention back to his food with a roll of his eyes, clearly not sated by my answer.

"Look… Peter might be a complete idiot but-"

"He's an idiot you're in love with." My breath hitched in my throat at his words. Not because he was wrong, quite the opposite. "I'm not blind kid, you're head over heels for the boy. I'm sure you'd forgive him for anything." Realising he was right, I glanced up with a halfhearted smile.

"Does that make me weak?"

He shook his head. "It makes you human."

We fell into silence after that, finishing off our food each in our own form of quiet contemplation. I already knew I was in love with Peter, I'd known that for a while. But hearing my brother say it out loud just made it all that much more real, and that kinda scared me. I'd never loved anyone before, not in a non-platonic way, and in all honesty, I wasn't sure what to do about it. What did love entail? How was I supposed to act? I couldn't get into this now, this was a rabbit hole for another time.

"You look like you're thinking real hard." Correct.

"I was just wondering why you haven't laid into me about getting drunk last night." It was a lie, but at the same time, it was true. That didn't mean I wasn't regretting the words the second they came out of my mouth. I'd managed to avoid a reprimand so far, why would I bring it upon myself this way?

"Look, I've made plenty of mistakes in my life. I'm not going to punish you for making your own. You've gotta make mistakes because that's how you learn. It just freaks me out to see you making the same mistakes that I did." He paused rubbing his eyes tiredly. "You have the potential to be or do anything you want. And I will spend every second of my life ensuring that you get that. I'm not gonna let you become a screw up like me."

"You're not a screw-up Tony, and you're crazy to even think that. I know you've made mistakes, I know you've done things that you regret but don't you dare forget all the good you've done. You nearly died saving this ungrateful, piece of crap world. In my, completely correct, opinion those aren't the actions of a screw-up." I kept my voice as even and strong as I could, despite the fact my emotions were beginning to get the better of me. "I'm gonna make mistakes, some of them my own, and some the same as yours. But if those mistakes make me become anything like you then I'll thank the lord that I made every one of them."

He watched me silently, mulling over my words as I worked to calm myself. I wasn't about to start crying over this, not when I was trying to prove that I was capable.

"You remind me so much of me already… that terrifies me, Els." He shook his head, casting his gaze down at the table. I reached across, placing my hand comfortingly over his arm.

"It shouldn't. You have never said anything that has made me feel so incredibly proud of who I am than that just has." My words were even and strong this time, no waver or hint of doubt. He simply stared back at me, a smile fighting for place on the edge of his lips. He slid back in his chair, gesturing for me to come to him which I did happily. He pulled me down into a hug as I reached his side, the familiar smell of oil mixed with his cologne casting a calming spell over me.

"You're too wise for your own good, you know that?" He mumbled into my hair, eliciting a quiet laugh from me.

"Well, that's one thing I definitely don't get from you…" He snorted out a laugh, letting me go and shoving my shoulder with a frown.

"Less of the smart-ass comments kid." He gave me a pointed stare, a genuine smile on his face finally.

"That one I do get from you…" I giggled, squealing as he hopped up from his seat and reached out to grab me, just missing as I slipped away at the last second.

"Dial back the attitude and go find some popcorn." He jabbed a finger in my direction before heading towards the lounge. "I'll get the blankets and Pepper, and pick a movie. Tonight's family night."

He paused for a moment as he was leaving, turning back to me with a dazzling smile.

"Oh, and you're grounded for two weeks."

I sighed, smiling at his back as he walked away. Closing my eyes for a moment and appreciating what I had. We might be extremely sarcastic and slightly dysfunctional, and we may encounter crazy life-threatening situations more often than the average family. But this was it. This was normal everyday life and I wouldn't change a single aspect of it. This was my family.


End file.
